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News Release 08-096

Plastic Brain Outsmarts Experts

Training can increase fluid intelligence, once thought to be fixed at birth

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Illustration showing the memory storage area of the brain with a nerve network.

Fluid intelligence, an aspect of a person's IQ, allows people to solve unfamiliar problems by understanding relationships between various concepts independent of previous knowledge or skills. Research shows that training short-term, or working memory, can improve fluid intelligence, which was once thought to be extremely difficult.

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