From: Gina Miller (nanogirl@halcyon.com)
Date: Mon Apr 26 1999 - 00:22:32 MDT
On the Brain of a Scientist: Albert Einstein" was published in 1985 in the journal Experimental Neurology (vol. 88, pages 198-204, 1985) and written by Marian C. Diamond, Arnold B. Scheibel, Greer M. Murphy and ...Thomas Harvey!
Compared to the brains of the 11 normal men, the ratios of neurons to glial cells in Einstein’s brain were smaller in all 4 areas studied. However, when the numbers were examined more closely with statistics, only 1 area showed a difference - the ratio in the left area 39. So in the left area 39, Einstein’s brain had fewer neurons to glial cells than the normal brains. In other words, there were more glial cells for every neuron in Einstein’s brain.
The authors concluded that the greater number of glial cells per neuron might indicate the neurons in Einstein’s brain had an increased "metabolic need" - they needed and used more energy. In this way, perhaps Einstein had better thinking abilities and conceptual skills.
A second paper describing Einstein's brain was published in 1996. Einstein's brain weighed only 1,230 grams which is far less than the average adult male brain (about 1,400 grams). The authors also reported that the thickness of Einstein's cerebral cortex (area 9) was thinner than that of five control brains. However, the DENSITY of neurons in Einstein's brain was greater. In other words, Einstein was able to pack more neurons in a given area of cortex.
The importance of these differences is still unknown. There are still many questions about how the brain constructs personality, builds intelligence and forms creativity. Perhaps future studies of the brains of other geniuses will reveal what makes these people such giants.
Diamond MC, Scheibel AB, Murphy GM Jr, Harvey T
Neuron:glial ratios were determined in specific regions of Albert Einstein's cerebral cortex to compare with samples from 11 human male cortices. Cell counts were made on either 6- or 20-micron sections from areas 9 and 39 from each hemisphere. All sections were stained with the Kluver-Barrera stain to differentiate neurons from glia, both astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Cell counts were made under oil immersion from the crown of the gyrus to the white matter by following a red line drawn on the coverslip. The average number of neurons and glial cells was determined per microscopic field. The results of the analysis suggest that in left area 39, the neuronal: glial ratio for the Einstein brain is significantly smaller than the mean for the control population (t = 2.62, df 9, p less than 0.05, two-tailed). Einstein's brain did not differ significantly in the neuronal:glial ratio from the controls in any of the other three areas studied.
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
Web:
http://www.nanoindustries.com
E-mail:
nanogirl@halcyon.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 15:03:38 MST