Re: Brain Size and Intelligence

JOHN LANGDON (LANGDON@GANDLF.UINDY.EDU)
Thu, 20 Oct 1994 11:56:50 -0400

In message writes:
> In the discussion of Rushton, there seems to have been a
> heavy focus on the relationship between brain size and
> intellignece. However, I recently read an article (the
> reference escapes me now reporting the results of a study
> where test subjects were presented with a set of problems
> and their brain activity was measured as they attempted to
> solve the problems. The results indicated that those who
> solved the problems the most quickly/accurately (or what
> ever, I don't recall the standard used) actually showed less
> brain activity than others, i.e. there was an inverse
> correlation between brain activity and ability.
>
> The results of this study argue that brain efficiency is a
> better indicator of "intelligence" than size. A small
> efficient brain could be more "intelligent" than a large

This study was described in Science News 146:236-237 (October 8, 1994) and cites
work by Richard Haier.


JOHN H. LANGDON email LANGDON@GANDLF.UINDY.EDU
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY FAX (317) 788-3569
UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS PHONE (317) 788-3447
INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46227