Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
One early suggestion was brain size (or weight, which provides the same ordering.) A second proposal was brain-to-body-mass ratio, and a third was encephalization quotient, sometimes referred to as EQ. The current best predictor is number of neurons in the forebrain, based on Herculano-Houzel's improved neuron counts. [1]
Currently the best predictor for intelligence across all animals is forebrain neuron count. [5] This was not seen earlier because neuron counts were previously inaccurate for most animals. For example, human brain neuron count was given as 100 billion for decades before Herculano-Houzel [6] [7] found a more reliable method of counting brain cells.
The size of the brain is a frequent topic of study within the fields of anatomy, biological anthropology, animal science and evolution.Measuring brain size and cranial capacity is relevant both to humans and other animals, and can be done by weight or volume via MRI scans, by skull volume, or by neuroimaging intelligence testing.
The brain-to-body mass ratio was however found to be an excellent predictor of variation in problem solving abilities among carnivoran mammals. [20] In humans, the brain to body weight ratio can vary greatly from person to person; it would be much higher in an underweight person than an overweight person, and higher in infants than adults.
A meta-analytic review by McDaniel found that the correlation between intelligence and in vivo brain size was larger for females (0.40) than for males (0.25). [18] The same study also found that the correlation between brain size and Intelligence increased with age, with children showing smaller correlations. [18]
Brain-based intelligence tests are concerned with both of these aspects. Modern techniques have evolved to focus on a few biological characteristics: Brain ERPs, brain size, and speed of neural conduction. Various instruments have been employed to measure these things.
Comparison of actual brain size with the size expected from allometry provides an encephalization quotient (EQ) that can be used as a more accurate indicator of an animal's intelligence. Brain of the sperm whale, considered the largest brain in the animal kingdom. Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) have the largest known brain mass of any ...
The brain is made up of individual cells (neurons) that contain specialized features such as dendrites, a cell body, and an axon. Neurons are cells differentiable from other tissues in the body. Neurons differ in size, shape, and structure according to their location or functional specialization.