The top secret of very smart brains
The more intelligent a person, the fewer connections there are between the neurons in his cerebral cortex.
This has being termed as been a very big secret of smart brains according to the study
This is the result of a study conducted by neuroscientists working with Dr Erhan Genç and Christoph Fraenz at Ruhr-Universität Bochum; the study was performed using a specific neuroimaging technique that provides insights into the wiring of the brain on a microstructural level.
This method enabled them to measure the amount of dendrites in the cerebral cortex, i.e. extensions of nerve cells that are used by the cells to communicate with each other.
In addition, all participants completed an IQ test. Subsequently, the researchers associated the gathered data with each other and found out: the more intelligent a person, the fewer dendrites there are in their cerebral cortex.
Previously conflicting results are thus explained
“The assumption has been that larger brains contain more neurons and, consequently, possess more computational power,”
says Erhan Genç.
However, other studies had shown that despite their comparatively high number of neurons the brains of intelligent people demonstrated less neuronal activity during an IQ test than the brains of less intelligent individuals.
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