By Guest Writer David Dubin, M.D.
After Albert Einstein’s death, his brain was preserved for future study. Scientists were naturally curious to see how the brain of a genius compared with that of a person of ordinary intelligence. Would there be an abundance of neurons (grey matter) or some unusual wiring of the neurons that distinguished it? When the brain was dissected, however, the only difference the scientists found was that the number of non-neuronal cells (white matter) was much higher. It is also true that, from evolutionary point of view, as brains became larger and “smarter”, what increased was not the percentage of neurons but the white matter. What could this mean?
After Albert Einstein’s death, his brain was preserved for future study. Scientists were naturally curious to see how the brain of a genius compared with that of a person of ordinary intelligence. Would there be an abundance of neurons (grey matter) or some unusual wiring of the neurons that distinguished it? When the brain was dissected, however, the only difference the scientists found was that the number of non-neuronal cells (white matter) was much higher. It is also true that, from evolutionary point of view, as brains became larger and “smarter”, what increased was not the percentage of neurons but the white matter. What could this mean?