Friday, December 7, 2012

Seeing Einstein's Genius Brain

Albert Einstein dubbed as the greatest scientist of the 20th century. In 1921, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect and "for his services to Theoretical Physics".

Been a long time experts to investigate what makes a German man born in 1879 was genius? Lucky, seven hours after his death in 1955, they took Einstein's brain with the consent of the family.

Dean Falk, a world-renowned 
paleoneurologist and chair of 
Florida State University's 
anthropology dept. (Picture 
from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/)
The brain was removed and photographed from various angles. Furthermore, the image is divided into 240 blocks and is available in histological slides. Unfortunately, most of the blocks, photos, and slide it disappeared from public view, more than 55 years.

Now, the 14 photos used by investigators retained by the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Recent findings explain that the brain of Albert Einstein did not like most people. According to the Florida State University anthropologist Dean Falk, it is believed to be related to cognitive ability Einstein extraordinary.

Falk, along with her partner, Frederick E. Lepore, of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and Adrianne Noe, Director of the National Museum of Health and Medicine, describes for the first time on the cerebral cortex of the brain of Einstein results of examination of 14 photos of new findings.
Einstein's brain tissue were removed from the skull by the pathologist Dr Thomas Harvey, seven hours after his death. (Picture from: http://www.arabstoday.net/)
The researchers compared the brains of Einstein with 85 normal human brains. They found that, based on functional imaging studies, Einstein's brain had unusual features. "Although the overall size and shape of Einstein's brain asymmetry normal, prefrontal cortex, somatosensory, primary motor, parietal, temporal, and incredible occipital," said Falk. According to her, it may have provided the basis for some of the neurological underpinnings of visuospatial abilities and math, for example.
Right part of Einstein's brain. (Picture from: http://www.livescience.com/)
The study, "The Cerebral Cortex of Albert Einstein: A Description and Preliminary Analysis of Unpublished Photographs", published on November 16, 2012 in the journal Brain. The paper also published a "map" to Einstein's brain that was prepared in 1955 by Dr. Thomas Harvey to describe the 240 block of tissue. The big question is whether there is anyone else who has a brain like that than Einstein? *** [SCIENCEDAILY | ERWIN Z | KORAN TEMPO 4060]
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