The correlation between mid-brain serotonin transporter availability and intelligence quotient in healthy volunteers

PurposeThis study was performed to investigate the association between the mid-brain serotonin transporter (SERT) availability and intelligence quotient (IQ).MethodsOne hundred and thirteen healthy participants, including 52 male and 61 female subjects, were recruited. We used SPECT with [123I]ADAM images to determine the SERT availability in the mid-brain, and measured the subjects' IQ using the WAIS-R.ResultsWe found a significant positive correlation between the mid-brain SERT availability and the IQ of the participants. Even when controlling for age and sex, the significant association still existed.ConclusionThis result implied that the higher the SERT binding in the mid-brain, the better the IQ in healthy participants.