Smart People Have Bigger Neurons

Is brain size somehow related to IQ? So far, this hypothesis has not been proven, but science has revealed at least an equally interesting fact. Namely, we know today that the neurons of intelligent people are larger. This in turn facilitates both faster transmission of information and faster flow of ideas.

While this fact may seem strange, that discovery and the theories surrounding it do not cease to irritate part of the academic community. Somehow, associating “volume” with “intellectual performance” seems a bit reduced and even simple. Because, after all, intelligence is still very complex to assess and even define, it is a bit contradictory to look at volume and relate it to intelligence.

Nevertheless, this information exists. Researchers in the so-called Human Brain Project have found that there is a direct link between the size of neurons and the level of people’s cognitive competence. This also opens up new possibilities, such as extending the limit of human intelligence in the laboratory field.

According to science, the neurons of intelligent people are larger

A study led by Dr. Natalia Goriounova of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in Amsterdam was the first to show that the size of neurons is directly related to a person’s level of intelligence. The higher the density and connections of neurons, the more significant intellectual potential that person also possesses.

To this day, we have known that there are about 100 billion neurons in the brain and that everyone collects, processes and transmits information through a number of chemical reactions and electrical signals. We were familiar with this mechanics, but we did not have solid knowledge of how the volume of these neurons could be related to human cognitive performance.

We already had data on, for example, Albert Einstein’s brain analysis after pathologist Thomas Harvey stole the data after the autopsy of this famous genius in 1955. That analysis revealed to us, among other things, that Einstein’s prefrontal cortex responsible for spatial cognition and mathematical thinking was more advanced than normal.

In addition, it was found that the paternal glial cells of this theory of relativity were larger than average in size. So in a way, we already had little clues at the time that preceded these new discoveries in this science that studies brain volume and intelligence…

Prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes: increased neuronal volume

Thus, the analyzes obtained in this study commissioned by the University of Amsterdam showed that the neurons of intelligent people are larger. It can also be seen that the areas where a large proportion of brain cells are located (i.e., the prefrontal cortex and temporal segments) are also more branched than normal.

This means that the neurons not only have a larger volume of their own, but also show that they also have a larger-than-normal connection with many other neurons around them. All of this allows for more synapse in the brain, allowing information to flow faster. In this way – and as Einstein’s brain has been shown – in intelligent people, both the prefrontal cortex and the temporal lobes have both a higher density and size.

Why are the neurons of intelligent people bigger?

As we study these scientific findings, an obvious question immediately arises: why are the neurons of intelligent people larger? Are they doing something special that would make the volume of neurons higher than average? Is this something that could be compared in some way to increasing muscle mass? The more you exercise, the bigger the muscle grows?

Researchers involved in the Human Brain Project can tell us that this specificity corresponds to genetic factors and processes that have not yet been fully elucidated. In this context, an interesting study commissioned by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam carried out an interesting project to proceed with a detailed analysis of each neuron in its active state – that is, while they were still “alive”.

To this end, a study was conducted on a group of people who needed surgery as a result of a tumor or epileptic complications. Prior to surgery, they underwent an intelligence test to identify those in the crowd who possessed higher intellectual performance. Later and during the procedure, small samples of the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes were taken from them.

In addition to the larger size of the cells, the studies showed a significantly higher action potential (an electric discharge wave that travels along the cell membrane by shaping it). Next, researchers will seek to understand what acts as a trigger for why smarter people have larger neurons than others.

The results have not yet been published, and we do not yet have fully conclusive data from the study.

What does this discovery suggest about the future?

Are we born intelligent or do we grow into intelligent beings due to stimulation and the environment? This is an eternal question that science has been asking for decades. Today, however, we know that there are two kinds of intelligence: flexible and crystallized.

Thus, while the first of these is based on natural intelligence acquired at birth, the second is the result of learning and experience. However, they are not mutually exclusive, and neither has a defined limit to which that intelligence can grow. Now that we know this, what does the above discovery mean? What clues can it give us and society that intelligent people have larger neurons and more connections in their brains?

Michele Giuglian, a professor and author at the University of Antwerp, has shown us something prophetic on this subject; perhaps in the near future we will be able to create larger brain cells using embryos and pluripotent stem cells. As a result, we would achieve something that creates hope for the future — something that goes far beyond intelligence, because with these discoveries, we could restore brain material and thereby reduce the cognitive deficit associated with injury or dementia. We will follow this progress and the additional information it brings with interest with interest.