Big Brains and Big Intelligence
Size is not what counts in the hunt for the most intelligent. Whales have brains weighing 9 kg (with
over 200 billion nerve cells), and human brains vary between 1.25 kg and 1.45 kg (with an estimated 85 billion nerve cells). A honeybee's brain weighs only 1 milligram and contains fewer than a million nerve cells.
Insects may have tiny brains, but they can perform some seriously impressive feats of mental gymnastics.
According to a growing number of studies, some insects can count, categorize objects, even recognize human faces -- all with brains the size of pinheads.
WATCH VIDEO: Take a closer look at the lives of mosquitoes, maggots and other creepy crawlies.
Despite many attempts to link the volume of an animal's brain with the depth of its intelligence, scientists now propose that it's the complexity of connections between brain cells that matters most. Studying those connections -- a more manageable task in a little brain than in a big one -- could help researchers understand how bigger brains, including those of humans, work.
Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London, state that contrary to popular belief, we can't say that brain size predicts the capacity for intelligent behavior.
Research repeatedly shows how insects are capable of some intelligent behaviors scientists previously thought were unique to larger animals.
Research suggests that bigger animals may need bigger brains simply because there is more to control - for example they need to move bigger muscles and therefore need more and bigger nerves to move them.
The entire article is presented in the journal Current Biology. Read more here.
