Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (548 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
The ability to learn and to deal with new situations and to deal effectively with tasks involving abstractions.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Personality
- Narrower topics
- Emotional Intelligence
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 146,174 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Intelligence” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 35,151 of them (24.0%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 45,805 records.
Reviews account for 12,241 records (8.4%) and meta-analyses for 1,092. Randomized controlled trials number 7,155 (4.9%) as a share of all records on the topic.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 38,262 |
| 2000-2009 | 26,956 |
| 2010-2019 | 45,805 |
| 2020 onward | 35,151 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 12,241 | 8.4% |
| Meta-analyses | 1,092 | 0.7% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 7,155 | 4.9% |
Method: PubMed query "Intelligence"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in psychiatry and psychology
Research on mental health and behaviour relies on questionnaires, interviews and rating scales rather than physical measurements, so how a condition was defined and measured shapes every result. Many studies are observational or small, placebo responses can be large, and findings in one group or culture may not carry over to another. Nothing on this page is advice about diagnosis or treatment; anyone worried about their mental health should talk to a qualified clinician. Check how outcomes were measured, who took part and how long they were followed.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neural and computational mechanisms of effort under the pressure of a deadline | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42660916 · DOI · PMC13522516 |
| Mitofusin-2 in ventral striatal D1 neurons regulates effort-based motivation through sex-specific mitochondrial-synaptic reprogramming | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42455671 · DOI · PMC13389689 |
| Payoff selectivity drives collective intelligence during dynamic resource tracking in humans | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 1 | cc by PMID 42778636 · DOI · PMC13601515 |
Neural and computational mechanisms of effort under the pressure of a deadline [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Deadlines fundamentally shape motivation.
- Closing excerpt
- These results reveal the neurocomputational mechanisms for how deadline pressure shapes motivation, and keep us on track with goals.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (149 words)
Deadlines fundamentally shape motivation. Research examining effort-based choices finds effort is an avoided cost. However, this overlooks how making progress on longer-term goals to be reached before deadlines motivate people to exert high effort for little immediate reward. Here, we test a framework where motivation depends on deadline pressure (work remaining / time remaining). Across four studies we use computational modelling examining decisions when physical effort makes progress on goals with deadlines. In support of the hypotheses, deadline pressure significantly impacts decision-making, shifting people from avoiding effort, to seeking the progress it makes. Using ultra-high-field fMRI, we show that functionally connected putamen and midcingulate cortex sub-regions process and update estimates of deadline pressure, with distinct anterior cingulate and putamen sub-regions processing effort both when it is being avoided or sought. These results reveal the neurocomputational mechanisms for how deadline pressure shapes motivation, and keep us on track with goals.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42660916 · DOI · PMC13522516
Mitofusin-2 in ventral striatal D1 neurons regulates effort-based motivation through sex-specific mitochondrial-synaptic reprogramming [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Effort-based motivation varies widely across individuals and affects well-being, yet the molecular and neuronal mechanisms that set motivational capacity remain incompletely understood.
- Closing excerpt
- These findings identify MFN2-dependent mitochondrial integrity in ventral striatal D1-MSNs as a critical determinant of motivational capacity and reveal sex-specific molecular and cellular responses through which mitochondrial dysfunction converges on similar motivational deficits.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (249 words)
Effort-based motivation varies widely across individuals and affects well-being, yet the molecular and neuronal mechanisms that set motivational capacity remain incompletely understood. Mitochondrial function is emerging as a critical regulator of behavior, and mitofusin-2 (MFN2) is a key mediator of mitochondrial fusion and endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria coupling. Here, we asked how downregulation of Mfn2 in dopamine receptor type-1-expressing medium spiny neurons (D1-MSNs) contributes to effort-based motivation and stress coping in male and female mice by integrating electrophysiology, neuronal and synaptic morphology, immunohistochemistry, mitochondrial readouts, RNA in situ hybridization, RiboTag, and behavioral analyses. MFN2 deficiency resulted in fragmented dendritic mitochondria and remodeled synaptic inputs in ventral striatal D1-MSNs, with no cellular impact in dorsomedial striatal D1-MSNs. Although MFN2 deficiency elicited sex-dependent synaptic and structural alterations, both sexes showed reduced recruitment of accumbal D1-MSNs during motivated behavior and impaired effort-based motivation and stress coping. Translatome profiling revealed shared depletion of mitochondrial pathways in both sexes, with more pronounced suppression of oxidative phosphorylation and TCA cycle programs in males. Strikingly, only males also exhibited coordinated downregulation of ribosomal programs together with enrichment of synaptic pathways, with high representation of genes regulating glutamate receptor cycling and PSD remodeling, providing a mechanistic framework for the observed synaptic alterations. Pathway-level network inference further supported coupling among mitochondrial, translational, and synaptic programs in males. These findings identify MFN2-dependent mitochondrial integrity in ventral striatal D1-MSNs as a critical determinant of motivational capacity and reveal sex-specific molecular and cellular responses through which mitochondrial dysfunction converges on similar motivational deficits.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42455671 · DOI · PMC13389689
Payoff selectivity drives collective intelligence during dynamic resource tracking in humans [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Humans' abilities for complex social learning and collective adaptation stand out across species.
- Closing excerpt
- Computational models of fine-grained movement decisions and agent-based simulations show that payoff information lets participants dynamically identify and selectively respond to reliable social cues, thus unlocking the group's collective potential.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (150 words)
Humans' abilities for complex social learning and collective adaptation stand out across species. Yet it is largely unknown how people integrate dynamically changing personal and social cues in realistic environments, resulting in collective intelligence or maladaptive behavior. Here, we report an online 3D immersive-reality experiment in which participants (n = 621) search for and track a mobile resource under realistic visual-spatial constraints. Participants complete the task either alone or in groups of five with different types of social information and resource speeds. Contrasting earlier work, participants in groups outperform solitary individuals, but only when payoff information was available. High-resolution visual field data and movement trajectories reveal that payoff visibility prompts adaptive recalibration of visual information flow, thereby enabling flexible adaptation. Computational models of fine-grained movement decisions and agent-based simulations show that payoff information lets participants dynamically identify and selectively respond to reliable social cues, thus unlocking the group's collective potential.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42778636 · DOI · PMC13601515
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: a meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions [4]
- Research article Genome-wide association meta-analysis in 269,867 individuals identifies new genetic and functional links to intelligence [5]
- Research article Dealing with feeling: a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation [6]
- Research article Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis [7]
- Research article Exploring compassion: a meta-analysis of the association between self-compassion and psychopathology [8]
- Research article A meta-analysis of self-determination theory-informed intervention studies in the health domain: effects on motivation, health behavior, physical, and psychological health [9]
Full-text reviews on EvidenceLib
Open-access review articles about this topic, reproduced in full with authors, licence and references.
Patients’ and Providers’ Attitudes Toward Artificial Intelligence and Electronic Health Record Use in Deep Phenotyping and Rare-Disease Screening: An Empty Systematic Review
Sylvia Martin, Åsa Grauman, Joshua Coulter et al. · Healthcare 2026 · CC BY 4.0
From Lab to Clinic: How Artificial Intelligence (AI) Is Reshaping Drug Discovery Timelines and Industry Outcomes
Doni Dermawan, Nasser Alotaiq, Aldo Sena De Oliveira · Pharmaceuticals 2025 · CC BY 4.0
Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Medicine: Challenges Across Diagnostic Imaging, Clinical Decision Support, Surgery, Pathology, and Drug Discovery
Eren Ogut, Athanassios A Kyrgidis · Clinics and Practice 2025 · CC BY 4.0
ASAS-NANP Symposium: Mathematical modeling in animal nutrition: revolutionizing animal farming with artificial intelligence: trends, challenges, and opportunities
Isabella C F S Condotta, Luis O Tedeschi · Journal of Animal Science 2025 · CC BY 4.0
Artificial intelligence in drug repurposing for rare diseases: a mini-review
Lucas Cortial, Vincent Montero, Sébastien Tourlet et al. · Frontiers in Medicine 2024 · CC BY 4.0
References
- Pisauro MA, Pollicino D, Fisher L, Apps MAJ. Neural and computational mechanisms of effort under the pressure of a deadline. . 2026. PMID 42660916 · DOI · PMC13522516
- Chioino A, Ulgen DH, Zanoletti O, Guillot de Suduiraut I, Maynard AM, Sanz E, et al.. Mitofusin-2 in ventral striatal D1 neurons regulates effort-based motivation through sex-specific mitochondrial-synaptic reprogramming. . 2026. PMID 42455671 · DOI · PMC13389689
- Chirkov V, Kurvers RHJM, Romanczuk P, Deffner D. Payoff selectivity drives collective intelligence during dynamic resource tracking in humans. . 2026. PMID 42778636 · DOI · PMC13601515
- Durlak JA, Weissberg RP, Dymnicki AB, Taylor RD, Schellinger KB. The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: a meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Dev. 2011. PMID 21291449 · DOI
- Savage JE, Jansen PR, Stringer S, Watanabe K, Bryois J, de Leeuw CA, et al.. Genome-wide association meta-analysis in 269,867 individuals identifies new genetic and functional links to intelligence. Nat Genet. 2018. PMID 29942086 · DOI · PMC6411041
- Webb TL, Miles E, Sheeran P. Dealing with feeling: a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychol Bull. 2012. PMID 22582737 · DOI
- Khoury B, Sharma M, Rush SE, Fournier C. Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis. J Psychosom Res. 2015. PMID 25818837 · DOI
- MacBeth A, Gumley A. Exploring compassion: a meta-analysis of the association between self-compassion and psychopathology. Clin Psychol Rev. 2012. PMID 22796446 · DOI
- Ntoumanis N, Ng JYY, Prestwich A, Quested E, Quested E, Hancox JE, et al.. A meta-analysis of self-determination theory-informed intervention studies in the health domain: effects on motivation, health behavior, physical, and psychological health. Health Psychol Rev. 2021. PMID 31983293 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.