The part of his brain associated with mathematical thinking was 15% wider than normal on both sides
News agencies
London (AP). Scientists from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, discovered that the part of the brain linked to mathematical thinking - the inferior parietal lobe - was 15% wider than normal on both sides in the brain of Albert Einstein, the father of the theory of relativity.
In the study - the only one of its kind on the anatomy of Einstein's brain - it was also discovered that the groove that normally runs from the front of the brain to the back, did not extend all the way through Einstein's brain.
"Such a shape has not yet been observed in any of the brains we have and there is no description of it in any human brain mapping," said Sandra Whittleson, a neurophysiologist who led the research published in the British medical journal Lancet. "However," she added, "we know that the environment also plays a very important role in learning and in brain development. This figure all in all implies that the environment is not the only factor." Whittelson said that the differences between Einstein's mind and the brains of other people are significant, but she said that there may be smaller, even microscopic, differences between the brains of different people with normal IQs.
The researchers compared Einstein's brain to the preserved brains of 35 men and 56 women, who were known to have normal IQ. As part of the research, two separate comparisons were also made: the first between Einstein's brain and the brains of men of all ages, and the second between his brain and the brains of eight men, who died at the age of 76 - the age at which Einstein died. The findings taught that Einstein's brain was the same in weight and dimensions as all other brains. According to Whittelson, this fact confirms the belief of many scientists that brain size is not a sign of intelligence.
Whittleson hypothesized that the partial absence of the sulcus in Einstein's brain may be the key to his genius, due to the possibility that this allowed more neurons in the area to form connections and work together more easily. It's very likely, Whittelson said, that the entire slot never existed in Einstein's mind.
The possibility that the notch shrunk as a result of Einstein's IQ is less likely in her opinion, since it appears early in life.
"We don't know if every brilliant physicist or mathematician will have the same brain structure," Whittleson said. "It seems logical, and it sounds like a convincing theory, but more proof is needed." In the next step, the researchers will scan the minds of living mathematicians in an attempt to detect tiny differences.
John Gabrieli, professor of psychology at Stanford University, also claimed that the findings regarding the groove and the connection between the neurons in the brain may explain Einstein's genius. "There must have been something in his mind that made him so brilliant," he said. Gabrieli further claimed that due to Einstein's rare genius, it is doubtful whether these findings could be applied to normal differences in intelligence.
Whittleson and her team obtained Einstein's brain after scientist John Harvey, who owned the brain, contacted them after reading about the university's brain research. It was Harvey - a pathologist who worked at a small hospital in Princeton, New Jersey - who performed the post-mortem on Einstein's body and determined that death was caused by natural causes. He took the brain home with him. Some of the pieces of the brain have been given to scientists, but so far no major research has been conducted on the subject.
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