SERUM-CHOLESTEROL AND INTELLECTUAL-PERFORMANCE

Objective: The current investigation sought to determine whether intel lectual performance is related to serum lipid concentrations. Methods: Subjects were 177 healthy, Caucasian adult males and females, aged 25 to 60 years, with widely varying total cholesterol concentrations. Cr ystallized intelligence was estimated from the Information and Vocabul ary subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Revised (WAIS-R ). Fluid intelligence was estimated from the WAIS-R Block Design subte st, and from a computerized version of the Letter Rotation test. Resul ts: Controlling for age, better performance on both Information and Vo cabulary subtests was associated with lower total and low-density lipo protein (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations (r's = -.24 to -.35, p's<.005). In contrast, better performance on Block Design wa s correlated with higher total and LDL cholesterol (r's =.22 to .23, p 's<.005). Letter rotation response latency was unrelated to serum lipi ds. Conclusion: These opposing relationships between serum cholesterol and different dimensions of intellectual performance, on the one hand , may reflect the propensity of knowledgeable individuals to consume l ow fat diets, and on the other hand, suggest that serum cholesterol co ncentration may be a correlate of brain nutrients important to mental efficiency.