Uncommon Features of Einstein’s Brain Might Explain His Remarkable Cognitive Abilities

Portions of Albert Einstein’s brain have been found to be unlike those of most people and could be related to his extraordinary cognitive abilities, according to a new study led by Florida State University evolutionary anthropologist Dean Falk.

Falk, along with colleagues Frederick E. Lepore of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Adrianne Noe, director of the National Museum of Health and Medicine, describe for the first time the entire cerebral cortex of Einstein’s brain from an examination of 14 recently discovered photographs. The researchers compared Einstein’s brain to 85 “normal” human brains and, in light of current functional imaging studies, interpreted its unusual features.

“Although the overall size and asymmetrical shape of Einstein’s brain were normal, the prefrontal, somatosensory, primary motor, parietal, temporal and occipital cortices were extraordinary,” said Falk, the Hale G. Smith Professor of Anthropology at Florida State. “These may have provided the neurological underpinnings for some of his visuospatial and mathematical abilities, for instance.”

The study, “The Cerebral Cortex of Albert Einstein: A Description and Preliminary Analysis of Unpublished Photographs,” was published in the journal Brain.

A novel function for p27 protein in the control of interneuron migration in the developing cerebral cortex

These results by GIGA-Neurosciences researchers (University of Liège, Belgium) increase our understanding of the mechanisms that drive neuronal migration in the cerebral cortex. Disruption of neuronal migration is associated with various neurological disorders characterized by mental retardation, epilepsy,  learning disabilities, or autism.

In a study published in Developmental Cell, the group of Laurent Nguyen, Research Associate of the FRS-FNRS and WELBIO investigator at GIGA-Neurosciences (University of Liège) has discovered a novel function for p27 in the control of interneuron migration in the developing cerebral cortex.

The Aging Brain Is More Malleable Than Previously Believed 

There is growing evidence that, beyond what was previously believed, the adult human brain is remarkably malleable and capable of new feats — even in the last decades of life.

In fact, new experiences can trigger major physical changes in the brain within just a few days, and certain conditions can accelerate this physical, chemical and functional remodeling of the brain.

"We used to think that the brain was completely formed by development and its basic structure didn’t change much in adults, but as research went on we discovered that wasn’t true, at least in the cerebral cortex," explains Randy Bruno, a member of the Kavli Institute for Brain Science at Columbia University. "We now know that an underlying portion of the brain called the thalamus, which feeds the cortex information from our senses, is also remarkably plastic."