The Flynn effect describes an increase in intelligence quotient (IQ) in the general population of about 3 points per decade. While this effect is well established in healthy individuals, research exploring the link to brain pathologies is scarce. We investigated the Flynn effect in a German sample of 203 patients with epilepsy with left, right, and bilateral lesions. Intelligence quotient values were obtained using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS) III and IV. Our results showed a stable Flynn effect with nearly no difference in adjusted full scale IQ (FSIQ) scores (0.02 IQ points) between the WAIS-III and WAIS-IV samples. There were no significant interactions between the side of pathology and corrected IQ values. Our sample showed a tendency towards performing worse in the WAIS-IV in three out of four subscales independently of the Flynn effect, pointing out methodological differences between the newer Wechsler editions. However, although patients with bilateral lesions performed worst across all subscales, they exhibited a similar pattern as patients with lesions in the left or right hemisphere, indicating that also more severe forms of brain pathologies can profit from the mechanisms behind the Flynn effect.

中文翻译：

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用韦克斯勒成人智力量表 (WAIS) III 和 IV 评估德国癫痫患者的弗林效应

弗林效应描述了一般人群的智商 (IQ) 每十年增加约 3 分。虽然这种效应在健康个体中已经确立，但探索与大脑病理联系的研究很少。我们在德国样本中研究了弗林效应，该样本包含 203 名患有左侧、右侧和双侧病变的癫痫患者。使用韦克斯勒成人智力量表 (WAIS) III 和 IV 获得智商值。我们的结果显示出稳定的弗林效应，WAIS-III 和 WAIS-IV 样本之间的调整后全量程 IQ (FSIQ) 分数（0.02 IQ 分）几乎没有差异。病理方面与校正后的 IQ 值之间没有显着的相互作用。我们的样本在 WAIS-IV 的四个子量表中的三个独立于弗林效应显示出表现更差的趋势，指出了较新的 Wechsler 版本之间的方法差异。然而，尽管双侧病变患者在所有分量表中表现最差，但他们表现出与左半球或右半球病变患者相似的模式，表明更严重的脑部病变也可以从弗林效应背后的机制中受益。