The Spark of Life and the Unification of Intelligence, Health, and Aging

Abstract

General intelligence ( g) represents the factors that influence performance across all academic and cognitive domains. The search for these factors has been ongoing for more than a century and has focused on the brain and cognitive systems that support learning and problem solving. In recent decades, it has become clear that the factors that influence academic and cognitive performance extend to general health and to successful aging in adulthood. The implication is that there may be one or several fundamental processes that influence the functioning of all biological systems, not simply the brain. The functioning of mitochondria is well situated as one of the processes that might unify intelligence, health, and aging. These organelles are located within cells and are the primary producers of cellular energy, among other functions. Energy availability, in turn, is the lowest common denominator needed for the development, maintenance, and optimal functioning of all biological systems. Here, I review the relations among intelligence, health, and aging and outline how the efficiency of mitochondrial functioning can link them together.