The human intelligence is less related to the size of his brain than the way it is structured, concluded a scientific study (AFP / Martin Bureau)
The human intelligence is less related to the size of his brain than the way it is structured, concluded an international scientific study coordinated by the University of Vienna.
The findings of this study: Scientists have so far “overestimated” the supposed link between brain size and intellectual performance of the human being, said in the Austrian press agency APA Jacob Pietschnig researcher in cognitive science at the University of Vienna .

Much more decisive on the level of intelligence displayed by contrast “the layout of the cortex, midbrain-or midbrain, and cerebellum and the right connection of the white matter and gray matter, much more important than the size of the cerebral mass itself, “he said.

Mr. Pietschnig and his team have synthesized 88 studies on the subject, covering more than 8,000 cases, and published their results last week in the journal “Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.”
Another observation from this study: Men, although generally having larger brains than women, did not show more advanced cognitive skills than those.

Participants in the study with an abnormally large brain have also performed below average in the tests intelligence, further notes Mr. Pietschnig.

The importance of brain structure, he adds, is also illustrated by the case of certain animals with a maximum brain, without being known to be great intellectuals, to the example of the sperm whale and her brain nine kilos.