IQ, brain power, and brain endurance

[ZeeDog]

I was thinking about drawbacks to high IQ, and I thought that maybe the increased glucose consumption from more difficult cognitive tasks could be one of those drawbacks. So a smarter brain could be in a way a "gas guzzler", which could leave you with decreased performance afterwards, which could be costly. I can't find any articles that specifically compare IQ with performance in endurance focused cognitive tasks though, so maybe somebody could point me in the right direction

 

[DiracPool]

I was thinking about drawbacks to high IQ, and I thought that maybe the increased glucose consumption from more difficult cognitive tasks could be one of those drawbacks

I wouldn't worry about that, I'll trade eating an extra slice of bread each day for greater cognitive capacity any day of the week.

So a smarter brain could be in a way a "gas guzzler", which could leave you with decreased performance afterwards, which could be costly.

Again, this would be very difficult to prove and much to subtle an effect to make any meaningful difference.

I can't find any articles that specifically compare IQ with performance in endurance focused cognitive tasks though, so maybe somebody could point me in the right direction

It's not clear from that statement exactly what you're looking for. Probably a better question to ask is what is it that you're really interested in knowing?

 

[Ryan_m_b]

This is a popular science article so take it with a pinch of salt and try to find any original studies it mentions (I did a quick search but don't have the time now) but it covers what you're asking:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thinking-hard-calories/

The long and short of it seems to be that the data is mixed. Some studies show that glucose dips occur during intense mental work but in others this isn't seen.