General cognitive function and the brain's structural connectome

Buchanan, C. R.; Moodie, J. E.; Batziou, V.; Conole, E. L. S.; Munoz Maniega, S.; Harris, M. A.; Yeung, H. W.; Corley, J.; Liewald, D. C.; Redmond, P.; Steele, D.; Waiter, G. D.; Whalley, H. C.; McIntosh, A. M.; Wardlaw, J.; Bastin, M. E.; Deary, I. J.; Tucker-Drob, E. M.; Cox, S. R.

doi:10.64898/2026.03.30.715223

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.03.30.715223

General cognitive function and the brain's structural connectome

Buchanan, C. R.·Moodie, J. E.·Batziou, V.·Conole, E. L. S.·Munoz Maniega, S.·Harris, M. A.·Yeung, H. W.·Corley, J.·Liewald, D. C.·Redmond, P.·Steele, D.·Waiter, G. D.·Whalley, H. C.·McIntosh, A. M.·Wardlaw, J.·Bastin, M. E.·Deary, I. J.·Tucker-Drob, E. M.·Cox, S. R.

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Abstract

General cognitive function ( g) reflects a broad capacity for flexible information processing, yet how brain-wide structural connectivity supports it remains unclear. In 38,824 individuals (26-84 years) across three cohorts, we show that g is supported by a widely distributed white matter network. Across streamline count, fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD), meta-analytic associations with g were widespread at global, nodal and edge levels, spanning all cerebral lobes and key subcortical structures and dependent on both inter- and intra-hemispheric connectivity, particularly ipsilateral long-range inter-lobar connections. White matter node-g associations spatially mirrored independent cortical morphometry-g associations, indicating convergence of grey and white matter contributions. Effect sizes increased with age: MD associations became more negative and FA more positive, especially in frontal regions. Edge-level findings replicated across cohorts and predicted g in a hold-out sample. These findings suggest g reflects a distributed structural communication backbone which becomes increasingly important with age.

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Buchanan, C. R., Moodie, J. E., Batziou, V., Conole, E. L. S., Munoz Maniega, S., Harris, M. A., Yeung, H. W., Corley, J., Liewald, D. C., Redmond, P., Steele, D., Waiter, G. D., Whalley, H. C., McIntosh, A. M., Wardlaw, J., Bastin, M. E., Deary, I. J., Tucker-Drob, E. M., Cox, S. R.. 2026-04-01. General cognitive function and the brain's structural connectome. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.30.715223

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