Plastic Brain Outsmarts Experts (IMAGE) U.S. National Science Foundation Caption Fluid intelligence, an aspect of a person's IQ, allows people to solve unfamiliar problems by understanding relationships between various concepts independent of previous knowledge or skills. Research shows that training short-term, or working memory, can improve fluid intelligence, which was once thought to be extremely difficult. Credit © 2008 Jupiter Images Corporation Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.