Einstein’s Brain • 1879 -1955
Einstein’s Brain • Einstein died in 1955 at age 76. His brain was stored by Dr Thomas Harvey, pathologist, who performed the autopsy. Harvey cut the brain into 240 pieces, which he kept in jars at his house. Harvey moved around the country but he always brought the brain with him. He eventually sent parts out to be studied to various researchers in the 1980 s and 1990 s. (Reference: Abraham, C. , Possessing Genius: The Bizarre Odyssey of Einstein's Brain, New York: St. Martin's Press, 2002)
Einstein’s Brain: Smaller Size • 1879 -1955
Einstein’s Brain: Parietal lobe • Parietal lobes are responsible for visual and 3 -D representation and mathematical reasoning. • E’s inferior parietal lobules are not divided by major cleft – Not seen in 191 controls! – Axons were connected in unusual ways • “might have allowed for his brilliance and his ability to put spatial representations into mathematical concepts”
Einstein’s Brain: Hippocampus • E’s left hippocampal neurons were larger in 4 of 5 five regions compared to right. – Controls showed minimal and inconsistent asymmetry. – Larger neurons in left hippocampus, DW Zaidel noted, imply that Einstein's left brain may have had stronger nerve cell connections between the hippocampus and neocortex than his right.
Einstein’s Brain: Other Differences • Total brain weight of only 1, 230 grams (average same-aged male = 1, 350 grams). • Thickness of area 9 (prefrontal cortex) was thinner than that of 5 controls, but same number of neurons. – Thus density of neurons in AE’s brain greater.
"On the Brain of a Scientist: Albert Einstein” Diamond, Scheibel, & Murphy (1985) • Surveyed neurons and glia in left and right area 9 (important in planning) and area 39 (language and integration) – More glial cells per neuron in AE compared to 11 age-matched male controls. – Left area 39 most significant difference • Conclusion: AE’s neurons may have had an increased "metabolic need"
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