Norbert Jausovec

Whenever one attempts to comb a hairy ball flat, there will always be at least one tuft of hair at one point on the ball. This seemingly worthless sentence is an informal description of the hairy ball theorem, an invaluable mathematical weapon that has been proven useful to describe a variety of physical/biological processes/phenomena in terms of t...

The nervous activity of the brain takes place in higher-dimensional functional spaces. It has been proposed that the brain might be equipped with phase spaces characterized by four spatial dimensions plus time, instead of the classical three plus time. This suggests that global visualization methods for exploiting four-dimensional maps of three-dim...

The nervous activity of the brain takes place in higher-dimensional functional spaces. Indeed, recent claims advocate that the brain might be equipped with a phase space displaying four spatial dimensions plus time, instead of the classical three plus time. This suggests the possibility to investigate global visualization methods for exploiting fou...

Whenever one attempts to comb a hairy ball flat, there will always be at least one tuft of hair at one point on the ball. This seemingly worthless sentence is an informal description of the hairy ball theorem, an invaluable mathematical weapon that has been proven useful to describe a variety of physical/biological processes/phenomena in terms of t...

Research into the neural underpinning of intelligence has mainly adopted a construct perspective: trying to find structural and functional brain characteristics that would accommodate the psychological concept of g. Few attempts have been made to explain intelligence exclusively based on brain characteristics - the brain perspective. From a methodo...

Biological activities, including cellular metabolic pathways, protein folding and brain function, can be described in terms of curved trajectories in hyperbolic spaces which are constrained by energetic requirements. Here, starting from theorems recently-developed by a deceased Field Medal young mathematician, we show how it is feasible to find and...

A single blind sham-controlled study was conducted to explore the effects of theta and gamma transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on offline performance on working memory tasks. In order to systematically investigate how specific parameters of tACS affect working memory, we manipulated the frequency of stimulation (theta frequency vs...

In the past decade, a large body of research has tried to provide an answer to the question: can we increase intelligence? Behavioral studies have provided some evidence that this might be possible, albeit a firm proof is still missing. Most studies that advocate a possible far transfer effect of working memory training on fluid intelligence have v...

Intelligence is a precious asset, highly valued in society. It is not surprising that bold claims, which on the one side, stress the genetic influences on intelligence and, on the other side, state that it can be raised via cognitive training, cause fierce discussions among scientists and catch the attention of media and the general public. Several...

Research into the neural underpinning of intelligence has mainly adopted a construct perspective: trying to find structural and functional brain characteristics that would accommodate the psychological construct of g. Few attempts have been made to develop an ability construct exclusively based on brain characteristics. The best neuroanatomical pre...

A number of alternative approaches can affect cognitive function. Presently, there is no evidence that neurofeedback can be used to enhance intelligence in healthy individuals; however, it presents a promising tool for improving specific cognitive processes, such as attention and memory. The development of new methods that enable self-regulation of...

The “Nurnberger Trichter”—a magic funnel used to pour knowledge, expertise, and wisdom into students—demonstrates that the idea of effortless learning and the power of intelligence was “cool” even 500 years ago. Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) that involves transcranial direct and alternating current stimulation (tDCS and tACS), as well as ran...

Does being more intelligent pay off? Counting the pros and cons definitively gives a yes as an answer. Intelligence has made us the dominant species on Earth, with no natural enemies, except ourselves. However, problems from the past such as hunger, poverty, and wars have not disappeared. On the contrary, our intelligence has created new ones like...

The objective of the present study was to investigate whether neural efficiency can be observed in visual working memory performance. Thirty low- and thirty high-performers were selected from a larger cohort of students based on performance on a visual WM task. Electroencephalogram (EEG) data during performance on this task was analyzed with event-...

The past decades have witnessed a huge interest in uncovering the neural bases of intelligence (e.g., Stelmack, & Houlihan, 1995; Stelmack, Knott, & Beauchamp, 2003). This study investigated the influence of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on fluid intelligence performance and corresponding brain activation. Previous findings sh...

The modular function j, central in the assessment of abstract mathematical problems, describes elliptic, intertwined trajectories that move in the planes of both real and complex numbers. Recent clues suggest that the j-function might display a physical counterpart, equipped with a quantifiable real component and a hidden imaginary one, currently u...

The finding that working memory training can increase fluid intelligence triggered a great number of cognitive training studies, the results of which have been fiercely debated among experts. The finding also prompted a surge of commercial versions of these working memory training programs. Increasing Intelligence overviews contemporary approaches...

A brief overview of structural and functional brain characteristics related to g is presented in the light of major neurobiological theories of intelligence: Neural Efficiency, P-FIT and Multiple-Demand system. These theories provide a framework to discuss the main objective of the paper: what is the relationship between individual alpha frequency...

This manuscript has been published.-------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT The modular function j, central in the assessment of abstract mathematical problems, describes elliptic, intertwined trajectories that move in the planes of both real and complex numbers. Recent clues suggest that the j-function might display a physical...

The modular function j, central in the assessment of abstract mathematical problems, describes elliptic, intertwined trajectories that move in the planes of both real and complex numbers. Recent clues suggest that the j-function might display a physical counterpart, equipped with a quantifiable real component and a hidden imaginary one, currently u...

Two experiments were conducted in order to investigate the relationship between theta and gamma frequencies, and the ratio between these frequencies, and working memory. In experiment 1, participants’ resting EEG data was recorded after which they solved verbal and spatial tests of short term memory (STM) capacity. As predicted, theta/gamma cycle l...

EEG alpha frequency band biomarkers of depression are widely explored. Due to their trait-like features, they may help distinguish between depressive and burnout symptomatology, which is often referred to as "work-related depression". The present correlational study strived to examine whether individual alpha frequency (IAF), power, and coherence i...

Available evidence indicates that left parietal theta activity plays a causal role for intelligence (Jaušovec et al., 2014; Jaušovec & Jaušovec, 2014; Pahor & Jaušovec, 2014). This double-blind, sham-controlled tACS-study hence examined left-parietal theta stimulation effects on intelligence and on brain activation as measured by fMRI. Moreover, th...

In order to examine whether theta–gamma cross-frequency relates to intelligence, two EEG experiments were conducted on healthy participants. In the first experiment, theta–gamma functional coupling was determined based on resting (eyes closed) EEG data of 100 participants. Twenty participants with either low or high theta–gamma correlation coeffici...

The objective of the study was to explore the influence of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on resting brain activity and on measures of fluid intelligence. Theta tACS was applied to the left parietal and left frontal brain areas of healthy participants after which resting electroencephalogram (EEG) data was recorded. Following s...

The study aimed to explore the role of the fronto-parietal brain network in working memory function-in temporary storage and manipulation of information. In a single blind sham controlled experiment 36 respondents solved different working memory tasks after theta transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) was applied to left frontal, left...

The study aimed to investigate the influence of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on working memory's (WM) storage capacity. Sham/verum tACS with individually determined theta frequency was applied to the left parietal (target electrode=P3) or frontal (target electrode=F3) brain areas (return electrode above the right eyebrow). Af...

This collection examines the many internal and external factors affecting cognitive processes. Editor Shulamith Kreitler brings together a wide range of international contributors to produce an outstanding assessment of recent research in the field. These contributions go beyond the standard approach of examining the effects of motivation and emoti...

The main objectives of the study were: to investigate whether training on working memory (WM) could improve fluid intelligence, and to investigate the effects WM training had on neuroelectric (electroencephalography - EEG) and hemodynamic (near-infrared spectroscopy - NIRS) patterns of brain activity. In a parallel group experimental design, respon...

In two experiments the neuronal mechanisms of sex differences in mental rotation were investigated. In Experiment 1 cortical activation was studied in women and men with similar levels of mental rotation ability (high, and average to low), who were equalized with respect to general intelligence. Sex difference in neuroelectric patterns of brain act...

The objective of the study was to evaluate the factor of sex in terms of its influence on event-related potential components during the solution of a complex mental rotation task. To evaluate the factor of sex, independent of differences in ability levels and hormonal changes, women and men were equalized with respect to general intelligence and sp...

The purpose of the study was to explore the relation between the acceptance of genetically modified organisms, basic emotions, general (IQ), verbal (VIQ) and procedural (PIQ) intelligence. The sample comprised 123 students of psychology (N = 65; 52.8%) and pre-service teachers (N = 58; 47.2%). There were 52 (42.3%) females and 71 males (57.7%) from...

Metacognition refers to knowledge and cognition about cognitive phenomena. This article will present a general overview on the definitions of metacognition and methods relating to how metacognition is observed and studied. Research findings concerning the relationship between metacognition and problem solving will be discussed. Particular emphasis...

This study investigated electrophysiological (EEG) and hemodynamic (near infrared spectroscopy - NIRS) measures as a function of gender in normal adult individuals. The EEG data analysis was based on the resting eyes closed brain activity of 300 respondents (160 females). The NIRS analyses was based on 155 respondents (88 females). The total power,...

We think this is an open empirical question. A good analogy is the concept of general intelligence, which has been the focus of many recent neuroscience studies. It is ultimately an empirical question as to whether intelligence is best described as a single monolithic construct or in terms of narrower lower-order abilities (e.g., visuospatial abili...

The focus of the present chapter is on neuropsychological underpinnings of gender differences in mental abilities, in general, and emotional intelligence (EI). As stressed by Nyborg (1994), it is a topic which is a minefield of methodological and theoretical problems. It is also a sensitive area packed with ideology and concern over “political corr...

The study explored the possibility to design a typology of neuro-electric brain activity that could explain differences in personality and ability. Power and coherence measures in 7 individually determined frequency bands of 331 respondents were entered into several factorial runs yielding to an 8 factor solution. The so obtained Bartlett factor sc...

The aim of the present study was to investigate gender related differences in brain activity for tasks of verbal and figural content presented in the visual and auditory modality. Thirty male and 30 female respondents solved four tasks while their electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Also recorded was the percentage of oxygen saturation of hemo...

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of gender on brain activity. Thirty male and 30 female respondents solved simple auditory and visual tasks while their electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Also recorded was the percentage of oxygen saturation of hemoglobin (%StO2) in the respondents' frontal brain areas with near-infrared s...

In three experiments, gender and ability (performance and emotional intelligence) related differences in brain activity – assessed with EEG methodology – while respondents were solving a spatial rotation tasks and identifying emotions in faces were investigated. The most robust gender related difference in brain activity was observed in the lower-2...

This chapter describes two pilot studies. The aim of the first study was to use EEG measures as moderating variables for analyzing metacognition. Alltogether the EEG data suggest that respondents confronted with tasks requiring metacognitive processes more involved their left than right hemisphere. This seems reasonable, because functions that are...

The aim of the present chapter is to answer the question: Has neuropsychology anything to say about e-learning? Our review is organized as follows: The first section deals with some key-issues of multimedia and computer-supported instructions which set them apart from a 'classical' teaching approach. In the second section, we briefly examine some o...

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between personality structure and brain activity of individuals while resting with eyes closed. In the experiment 110 individuals participated (55 males and 55 females). They were clustered into 5 personality types according to the dimensions of general and emotional intelligence, and the fiv...

The study investigated the influence Mozart's music has on brain activity in the process of learning. A second objective was to test priming explanation of the Mozart effect. In Experiment 1 individuals were first trained in how to solve spatial rotation tasks, and then solved similar tasks. Fifty-six students were divided into 4 groups: a control...

The study investigated gender differences in resting EEG (in three individually determined narrow alpha frequency bands) related to the level of general and emotional intelligence. Brain activity of males decreased with the level of general intelligence, whereas an opposite pattern of brain activity was observed in females. This difference was most...

Participating in the study were 30 respondents, who could be clustered as high-average verbal/performance intelligent (HIQ/AIQ), or emotionally intelligent (HEIQ/AEIQ). The EEG was recorded while students were performing two tasks: the Raven's advanced progressive matrices (RAPM), and identifying emotions in pictures (IDEM). Significant differences...

The study investigated the influence of Mozart's music on respondents' brain activity while solving spatial rotation and numerical tasks. The method of induced event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) and coherence (ERCoh) was used. The music condition had a beneficial influence on respondents' performance of spatial rotation tasks...

The study investigated the influence of Mozart's music on respondents' brain activity while solving spatial rotation and numerical tasks. The method of induced event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) and coherence (ERCoh) was used. The music condition had a beneficial influence on respondents' performance of spatial rotation tasks...

Twenty individuals solved a visual oddball task in two response conditions: while listening to the Mozart's sonata K. 448, and while listening to nothing. The recorded event-related potentials (ERP) were analyzed in the time and frequency domains. In the music response condition the ERP peak latencies on the left hemisphere increased, whereas on th...

Thirteen high intelligent (H-IQ) and 13 low intelligent (L-IQ) individuals solved two figural working-memory (WM) tasks and two figural learning tasks while their EEG was recorded. For the WM tasks, only in the theta band group related differences in induced event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) were observed. L-IQ individuals d...

The aim of this study was to investigate the conflicting results in event-related desynchronization/synchronization (Pfurtscheller, 1999) in the upper alpha and theta bands related to intelligence. Two groups of individuals (high intelligent MIQ=128, and average intelligent MIQ=93), solved two memory tasks while their EEG was recorded. The data wer...

V članku je predstavljen pregled teoretičnih osnov in nekaterih empiričnih študij o Mozartovem učinku. Mozartov učinek je nevrofizološki fenomen, ki se kaže v pomembnem izboljšanju reševanja prostorsko-časovnih nalog in v spremembi nevrofiziološke aktivnosti ob prisotnosti Mozartove glasbe. Prvič so o njem poročali znanstveniki Kalifornijske Univer...

Differences in current density between high intelligent (IQ=124), and average intelligent individuals (IQ=110), while solving two complex cognitive tasks (analytical-figural, and identification of emotions) were analyzed with low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA). High intelligent individuals, as compared with average ones in bot...

The event-related responses of 18 individuals were recorded while they were listening to 3 music clips of 6 s duration which were repeated 30 times each. The music clips differed in the level of their complex structure, induced mood, musical tempo and prominent frequency. They were taken from Mozart's sonata (K. 448), and Brahms' Hungarian dance (n...

This study investigated the cognitive processes of students while learning physics using EEG methodology. Forty students (20 experts, and 20 novices in the domain of physics) learned material presented by text and in a computer supported multimedia format while their EEG was recorded. Alpha power measures which are inversely related to mental effor...

High (emotional intelligence scores (EIQ)=120) and average emotional intelligent individuals (EIQ=89) were solving tasks from an emotional intelligence test while their electroencephalogram was recorded. Significant differences relating to emotional intelligence were observed in induced and event related band power in the theta (4.4–6.4 Hz), lower-...

Differences in current density between high intelligent (IQ=127), and low intelligent individuals (IQ=87), while solving two oddball tasks (auditive and visual) were analyzed with low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA). In highly intelligent individuals a decrease in the volume of activated cortical gray matter between the P300 on...

The present study investigated differences in ERP parameters related to intelligence. For that purpose 74 individuals (Intelligence: M=107; S.D.=12; range 73–135), of average creativity passively listened to two tones and performed two auditory, and two visual oddball tasks while their EEG was recorded. The approximate entropy parameters, peak late...

High (intelligence quotient (IQ)=126) and low intelligent individuals (IQ=88) were listening to tone pips and performed an auditory oddball task while their electroencephalogram was recorded. Significant differences relating to intelligence were observed in induced and event related band power in the theta (4–7 Hz) and upper alpha band (10–13 Hz)....

This study investigated the differences in cognitive processes related to creativity and intelligence using EEG coherence and power measures in the lower (α1=7.9–10.0 Hz) and upper alpha band (α2=10.1–12.9 Hz). In two experiments, gifted, creative, intelligent subjects, and individuals of average ability solved closed and open problems while their...

This study investigated differences in cognitive processes related to problem complexity. It was assumed that these differences would be reflected in respondents' EEG activity--spectral power and coherence. A second issue of the study was to compare differences between the lower (alpha(1) = 7.9-10.0 Hz), and upper alpha band (alpha(2) = 10.1-12.9 H...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between different EEG measures (mean power, mean frequency, approximated entropy and coherence), and ability (creativity and intelligence). For that purpose the EEG of 115 student-teachers (Intelligence: M= 115.17; SD = 12.78; IQ(min)= 82; IQ(max)= 136; Creativity - standardized score...

This study investigated the cognitive processes involved in learning information presented in multimedia and text format using electroencephalographic (EEG) measures. Thirty-eight students (19 gifted, and 19 average) learned material presented with text (TEXT); text, sound, and picture (PICTURE); and text, sound and video (VIDEO), while their EEG w...

This study investigated differences in EEG between gifted individuals (mean IQ = 132) and average individuals (mean IQ = 101) in resting conditions and while solving different tasks. Gifted and average students solved tasks representing processing speed, working memory, arithmetic operations, proportional, deductive and inductive reasoning. α-power...

The study investigated differences in electroencephalography (EEG) alpha activity between gifted and non-identified students. Seventeen gifted and 17 non-identified students participated in the experiment. Their EEG was recorded while they solved four problems. Two measures were used: 1) an asymmetry index or differences in hemispheric activity and...

This study investigated differences in the cognitive processes involved in solving well-and ill-defined problems. In Experiment 1, 26 students solved I well-defined and 3 ill-defined problems while their electroencephalography was recorded. During the solution of the 4 problem types, the respondents displayed no significant differences in alpha pow...

Discusses issues in gifted education in the context of the coming turn of the century. These include: (1) mentoring (with emphasis on problem solving and cooperation between mentor and child); (2) results of ongoing brain research comparing gifted and regular students; and (3) the increasing importance of technology and computers in education of gi...

In three experiments, differences in EEG alpha activity between gifted (mean IQ = 137) and average (mean IQ = 105) individuals were investigated. EEG activity was monitored over 16 scalp locations. A fast Fourier transform was performed on 15 artifact-free 2-second chunks of data to derive a spectral power average in the alpha band (7.5–13 Hz). In...

Two experiments investigated differences in processes involved in solving four problem types. In both experiments, cognitive processes associated with solving certain problem, types were observed using ongoing heart rate measures. In Experiment 1, each of the 18 subjects solved eight problems and simultaneously provided feeling-of-warmth (FOW) rati...

This study investigates the relationship between giftedness and strategic flexibility using cognitive training methodology. The two experiments showed that the metacognitive training influenced strategic flexibility and metacognition of students. The results further showed that it is much easier to enhance performance on closed problems than with o...

focuses on metacognitive skills, including the planning and monitoring of problem-solving efforts / presents 5 experiments that demonstrate how strongly strategy and metacognition influence problem solving / [Ss were university students] (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

In Exp 1, 16 gifted and 20 average undergraduates were presented with a story analogy before an attempt to solve a radiation problem. Gifted Ss did not produce significantly more dispersion solutions (enhanced by the analogy) than average Ss. In Exp 2, 15 gifted and 15 average students from the Exp 1 sample solved 6 problems while thinking aloud. G...

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between flexible strategic thinking and problem solving performance. In the first experiment, gifted, average, and poor problem solvers performed a number of tasks which were designed to provoke rigidity. The results indicated that the average and poor performance groups did not differ in the...

As is the case in many countries, education in Yugoslavia can be divided into three levels: elementary, secondary and university level. This paper will focus on the elementary school, trying to give an overview of the main school reforms which have taken place since the Second World War and their political background, and the developments to be exp...

The putative importance of analogy in creative insight and intelligence has been repeatedly supported in anecdotal reports of creative scientists and theoretical proposals on creativity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of affect on analogical transfer. For that purpose, three experiments were conducted in which negativ...