When it comes to human brain volume, bigger doesn't always mean better. Human brains expanded roughly by half between H. erectus and H. sapiens sapiens. The brain scientists aren't sure about the implications of this evolutionary trend. There are some disadvantages of increasing brain size. Big brains are energetically extremely expensive. And as
humans continue to evolve, some scientists say our brains are actually
getting smaller and admit that the shrinking human brain could eventually signal an evolutionary dumbing-down. This CEREBRART artwork evolves the topic started in my previous posts.
Oct 8, 2012
CEREBRART - Big Brain Again
When it comes to human brain volume, bigger doesn't always mean better. Human brains expanded roughly by half between H. erectus and H. sapiens sapiens. The brain scientists aren't sure about the implications of this evolutionary trend. There are some disadvantages of increasing brain size. Big brains are energetically extremely expensive. And as
humans continue to evolve, some scientists say our brains are actually
getting smaller and admit that the shrinking human brain could eventually signal an evolutionary dumbing-down. This CEREBRART artwork evolves the topic started in my previous posts.
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Small brain small problems, big brain big problems
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/davil27/4921381694/
It is important to identify the particular brain structures that are responsible for brain expansion. Brain size may not be the principal problem, rather, brain cytoarchitectonic details may be much more important
ReplyDeleteexpanded brain / brain expansion - why did evolution expanded brain size? Perhaps expanded brain provided more intellectual resources?
ReplyDeleteEmergency Inflatable Brain
ReplyDeleteDo you ever wish you had a spare brain? With the Emergency Inflatable Brain you now can.
Keep this Emergency Brain with you at all times in case your real brain freezes up, goes blank or starts to malfunction.
http://www.neatoshop.com/product/Emergency-Inflatable-Brain
Das Thema ist vielversprechend. Die Ideen völlig unerwartet und intersserant! Wünsche dem Autor weitere erfolgreiche Entwicklung...
ReplyDeleteEmergency Inflatable Brain provides a crucial evolutionary advantage and is the critical event in the evolution of the brain!
ReplyDeleteBrain Size Evolution Is No Joke!
ReplyDeleteBrain Size and Evolution - Where we are
http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/macroevolution/18663086/32836/32836_1000.png
... perhaps The Brain compactization is the basic mechanism of recent Human Brain evolution. The Brain is the high density multi chip preparing via such a evolutionary compactization some place in the scull for an implanted interface between The Brain and computer networks.
ReplyDelete@implanted: thanks for the most humane and witty comment. Nevertheless, some smart pigs did that already and enjoy controlling computer gear with brain waves
Deletehttp://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/03/brain-interface/
bigger brain = bigger chaos
ReplyDeleteIf any system is larger this system may come into chaos and instability and the chaotic trajectories begin to emerge. If our brain is not an exception to this rule, then the inevitable conclusion follows that "bigger brain = bigger chaos".
DeleteHobbit's Brain Size - a shrinking brain does not necessarily mean diminished mental abilities. Some scientists have suggested that the brain of H. floresiensis underwent "neurological reorganization" as it shrank, so that the brain's functions are largely maintained even as it became smaller. We commonly associate larger brains with greater intelligence when comparing species, But the proportions of different parts of the brain and the number and arrangement of connections among those parts are likely critical factors in determining intelligence. This could explain why the hobbit was able to use fire and wield stone tools to kill and butcher animals twice their size.
ReplyDeleteare human brain cells bigger?
ReplyDeleteThere are different types of cells in the brain. The size of the brain cells of different species vary greatly. To measure all the different types of cells in the brain of different species is impossible. Your question concerning human brain cells cannot be answered because it depends on incorrect assumptions.
Deletehuman brain cells are not bigger but chaotic and crazy!
ReplyDelete“BigBrain” Study Provides Most Detailed 3-D Map of the Brain Yet.
ReplyDeleteScience 21 June 2013: Vol. 340 no. 6139 pp. 1472-1475
DOI: 10.1126/science.1235381
The reconstruction, published in the 21 June issue of the journal Science, exceeds the resolution of all existing reference brains presently in the public domain, and will be made freely available to the broader scientific community. Yes - “BigBrain” is a free, publicly available tool that provides considerable neuroanatomical insight into the human brain, thereby allowing the extraction of microscopic data for modeling and simulation.
The dream came true because of an interdisciplinary and intercontinental collaboration spanning from Europe to Canada and from neuroanatomy to supercomputing
Sarah Benson-Amram, Ben Dantzer, Gregory Stricker, Eli M. Swanson, Kay E. Holekamp. Brain size predicts problem-solving ability in mammalian carnivores. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016; 201505913 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1505913113
ReplyDelete