Why do more intelligent people live healthier and longer lives? One possibility is that intelligence tests assess health of the brain, but psychological science has lacked technology to evaluate this hypothesis. Digital retinal imaging, a new, noninvasive method to visualize microcirculation in the eye, may reflect vascular conditions in the brain. We studied the association between retinal vessel caliber and neuropsychological functioning in the representative Dunedin birth cohort. Wider venular caliber was associated with poorer neuropsychological functioning at midlife, independently of potentially confounding factors. This association was not limited to any specific test domain and extended to informants’ reports of cohort members’ cognitive difficulties in everyday life. Moreover, wider venular caliber was associated with lower childhood IQ tested 25 years earlier. The findings indicate that retinal venular caliber may be an indicator of neuropsychological health years before the onset of dementing diseases and suggest that digital retinal imaging may be a useful investigative tool for psychological science.

中文翻译：

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视网膜血管口径和终生神经心理功能

为什么更聪明的人活得更健康、寿命更长？一种可能性是智力测试可以评估大脑的健康状况，但心理科学缺乏评估这一假设的技术。数字视网膜成像是一种可视化眼睛微循环的新型无创方法，可以反映大脑中的血管状况。我们研究了但尼丁代表性出生队列中视网膜血管口径与神经心理功能之间的关联。较宽的小静脉口径与中年时较差的神经心理功能相关，与潜在的混杂因素无关。这种关联不限于任何特定的测试领域，并扩展到线人对队列成员日常生活中认知困难的报告。此外，较宽的小静脉口径与 25 年前测试的儿童智商较低有关。研究结果表明，视网膜小静脉口径可能是痴呆症发病前数年神经心理健康的指标，并表明数字视网膜成像可能是心理科学研究的有用研究工具。