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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

VCU STUDY SHOWS BIG-BRAINED PEOPLE ARE SMARTER

RICHMOND, Va. (June 17, 2005) – People with bigger brains are smarter than their smaller-brained counterparts, according to a study conducted by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher published in the journal “Intelligence.”

The study, published on line June 16, could settle a long-standing scientific debate about the relationship between brain size and intelligence. Ever since German anatomist and physiologist Frederick Tiedmann wrote in 1836 that there exists “an indisputable connection between the size of the brain and the mental energy displayed by the individual man,” scientists have been searching for biological evidence to prove his claim.

“For all age and sex groups, it is now very clear that brain volume and intelligence are related,” said lead researcher Michael A. McDaniel, Ph.D., an industrial and organizational psychologist who specializes in the study of intelligence and other predictors of job performance.

The study is the most comprehensive of its kind, drawing conclusions from 26 previous – mostly recent – international studies involving brain volume and intelligence. It was only five years ago, with the increased use of MRI-based brain assessments, that more data relating to brain volume and intelligence became available.

On average, smarter people learn quicker, make fewer errors, and are more productive,” McDaniel said. “The use of intelligence tests in screening job applicants has substantial economic benefits for organizations.”

Before MRIs, scientists often used external skull measurements or waited until a person died to estimate brain size. The external skull measurements were only approximate estimates of brain volume.



More here: www.vcu.edu/uns/Releases/2005/june/061705.html

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Now....it explains everything! Call me Brainiac...

[Maddad]

I suspect though that the intelligence variations within a brain size group are greater than the variations between the groups.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

For the sake of this conversation, I recently lent my brain for research...

It showed great cognitive activity.

I'm still waiting for it's return via USPS ground mail.

[starbux]

My initial reaction to the article is a big "DUH"! It should be noted though, that Einstein supposedly had a small brain. Then again his was much like a dedicated processor, he was almost a "savant".

In the end size may not matter so much as how you use it.

[Maddad]

Hmmm. Brains generally shrink with age, and he was pretty old when he passed.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Look and Listen: Brain Struggles to do Both

The human brain struggles to simultaneuosly look and listen, a new study suggests.

The parts of the brain that handle visual input are less effective when the mind is also processing audio input, and vice versa.

"Our research helps explain why talking on a cell phone can impair driving performance, even when the driver is using a hands-free device," said Steven Yantis, a Johns Hopkins University psychologist. "Directing attention to listening effectively 'turns down the volume' on input to the visual parts of the brain."

More here: www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050621_look_listen.html

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Umm...what?