Our brain is an amazing organ. It regulates all the vital functions of the body, and is also able to perceive and process a huge amount of information. What affects the volume of the human brain? What are its sizes?
Human brain weight and volume
The brain belongs to the central nervous system. It consists of five sections and is covered with three shells. The front section is represented by the right and left hemispheres, which, in turn, are covered with bark.
Absolutely all of our actions are due to the work of the brain. We think, analyze, walk, eat, sleep, thanks to him. When he dies, we die too. The brain is securely hidden in the cranium to reduce the risk of damage.
He grows and develops with us. At birth, its weight is 300 grams, over time, this number increases by almost five times. The brain volume of modern man occupies up to 95% of the skull, taking its shape as it grows. As a rule, the brain weighs from 1 to 2 kilograms, and its volume in an average person reaches 1200-1600 cubic centimeters. In women, its size is smaller than in men.
Ancient people
The first two-legged creatures were Australopithecus. In the evolutionary chain, they were closest to the apes, including the size of the brain, the volume of which did not exceed 600 cubic centimeters.
More than 2 million years ago, one of the lines of anthropoid apes (hominids) began to change. In particular, their brain began to grow. Scientists suggest that this is due to a change in lifestyle and the use of the first tool. So, already among the most ancient people it was much larger than among the ancestors.
They were replaced by ancient people - Neanderthals, and then Cro-Magnons. It is noteworthy that the brain volume of ancient people exceeded the size of this organ in modern man by about 20%. The reason for this phenomenon has not yet been clarified.
Scientists suggest that brain reduction can be explained by energy savings. One of the reasons in our favor is also the development of abstract thinking. Thanks to him, many concepts have gained a generalized meaning, and the information is a little "compressed" and takes up less space in the brain.
What size depends on
There is a common myth that the brain volume of a person is reflected in his mental abilities. But the nature of living organisms was somewhat more complicated. Numerous experiments have long disproved this hypothesis, proving that it is not so much the size of the brain that is important, but its ratio with the size of the body.
An important factor is also the ratio of the brain and spinal cord. In humans, it is 1:50. For comparison, in a cat this indicator is 1: 1, in a monkey - 1:16. Scientists are convinced that the size of the brain is affected by a set of skills that different types possess. It is also associated with a greater or lesser development of certain departments that regulate specific functions in the body. For example, birds have a more developed part of the brain that is responsible for vision and balance.
For a normal existence, it is enough to have a medium-sized brain. It will not affect intellectual development. Too large or small values may indicate irregularities. It is noted that the brain volume of a person with autism may be the same as that of a healthy person, but it will be hypertrophied and asymmetrically developed. Alzheimer's disease develops faster in people whose brains are smaller than average.
Interesting Facts
- According to recent studies, brain volume is determined immediately by seven genes.
- On average, its length does not exceed 15 centimeters.
- The size of the female brain is inferior to the male because of the reduced centers that are responsible for the logic. Discrepancies can be up to 150 grams.
- It reaches its maximum size in about 20 years. The most active growth is usually observed from 7 to 11 years.
- The mass of our “thinker” changes with age. In infancy, it is 300 grams, in adulthood - up to 2 kilograms, but after 50 it loses 30 grams every ten years.
- The brain of the largest toothed whale - the sperm whale - weighs about seven kilograms, the elephant - 5.
- Among women, the largest weight indicator was 1565 grams. In men, it amounted to 2850 grams. The record holder was a psychiatric patient with idiocy.
- In dinosaurs, its value did not exceed the size of a pin-pong ball.
- The poet Anatoly France weighed 1017 g, Lenin 1340 g, Einstein 1230 g, he reached 2012 with Turgenev.
Conclusion
The brain is a small computer that regulates all our activities. Complex operations and tasks are subject to him. In different species, different sexes and age groups, its value is different. So, the brain grows when we grow, and slowly decreases in old age.
The human brain volume is not directly related to our intellectual or creative abilities. In many animals, the size of the brain far exceeds the human. Mental development and the ability to solve complex problems is determined by the structure and development of its individual parts, and not the brain as a whole.