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Select la ngua ge

English

Suzana Herculano-Houzel
What is s o s p e cial ab o ut t he human b rain?
P o s t e d Nov 2013
Ra t e d Inf orma t ive, Fa scina t ing

0:11
Wha t is so specia l a bout t he huma n bra in? Why is it t ha t we st udy ot her a nima ls inst ea d of t hem
st udying us? Wha t does a huma n bra in ha ve or do t ha t no ot her bra in does? When I beca me
int erest ed in t hese quest ions a bout 10 yea rs a go, scient ist s t hought t hey knew wha t dif f erent
bra ins were ma de of . T hough it wa s ba sed on very lit t le evidence, ma ny scient ist s t hought t ha t
a ll ma mma lia n bra ins, including t he huma n bra in, were ma de in t he sa me wa y, wit h a number of
neurons t ha t wa s a lwa ys proport iona l t o t he size of t he bra in. T his mea ns t ha t t wo bra ins of t he
sa me size, like t hese t wo, wit h a respect a ble 400 gra ms, should ha ve simila r numbers of neurons.
Now, if neurons a re t he f unct iona l inf orma t ion processing unit s of t he bra in, t hen t he owners of
t hese t wo bra ins should ha ve simila r cognit ive a bilit ies. And yet , one is a chimp, a nd t he ot her is a

cow. Now ma ybe cows ha ve a rea lly rich int erna l ment a l lif e a nd a re so sma rt t ha t t hey choose
not t o let us rea lize it , but we ea t t hem. I t hink most people will a gree t ha t chimps a re ca pa ble of
much more complex, ela bora t e a nd f lexible beha viors t ha n cows a re. So t his is a f irst indica t ion
t ha t t he "a ll bra ins a re ma de t he sa me wa y" scena rio is not quit e right .
1:23
But let 's pla y a long. If a ll bra ins were ma de t he sa me wa y a nd you were t o compa re a nima ls wit h
bra ins of dif f erent sizes, la rger bra ins should a lwa ys ha ve more neurons t ha n sma ller bra ins, a nd
t he la rger t he bra in, t he more cognit ively a ble it s owner should be. So t he la rgest bra in a round
should a lso be t he most cognit ively a ble. And here comes t he ba d news: Our bra in, not t he
la rgest one a round. It seems quit e vexing. Our bra in weighs bet ween 1.2 a nd 1.5 kilos, but
elepha nt bra ins weigh bet ween f our a nd f ive kilos, a nd wha le bra ins ca n weigh up t o nine kilos,
which is why scient ist s used t o resort t o sa ying t ha t our bra in must be specia l t o expla in our
cognit ive a bilit ies. It must be rea lly ext ra ordina ry, a n except ion t o t he rule. T heirs ma y be bigger,
but ours is bet t er, a nd it could be bet t er, f or exa mple, in t ha t it seems la rger t ha n it should be,
wit h a much la rger cerebra l cort ex t ha n we should ha ve f or t he size of our bodies. So t ha t would
give us ext ra cort ex t o do more int erest ing t hings t ha n just opera t ing t he body. T ha t 's beca use
t he size of t he bra in usua lly f ollows t he size of t he body. So t he ma in rea son f or sa ying t ha t our
bra in is la rger t ha n it should be a ct ua lly comes f rom compa ring ourselves t o grea t a pes. Gorilla s
ca n be t wo t o t hree t imes la rger t ha n we a re, so t heir bra ins should a lso be la rger t ha n ours, but
inst ea d it 's t he ot her wa y a round. Our bra in is t hree t imes la rger t ha n a gorilla bra in.
2:48
T he huma n bra in a lso seems specia l in t he a mount of energy t ha t it uses. Alt hough it weighs only
t wo percent of t he body, it a lone uses 25 percent of a ll t he energy t ha t your body requires t o run
per da y. T ha t 's 500 ca lories out of a t ot a l of 2,000 ca lories, just t o keep your bra in working.
3:06
So t he huma n bra in is la rger t ha n it should be, it uses much more energy t ha n it should, so it 's
specia l. And t his is where t he st ory st a rt ed t o bot her me. In biology, we look f or rules t ha t a pply
t o a ll a nima ls a nd t o lif e in genera l, so why should t he rules of evolut ion a pply t o everybody else
but not t o us? Ma ybe t he problem wa s wit h t he ba sic a ssumpt ion t ha t a ll bra ins a re ma de in t he
sa me wa y. Ma ybe t wo bra ins of a simila r size ca n a ct ua lly be ma de of very dif f erent numbers of
neurons. Ma ybe a very la rge bra in does not necessa rily ha ve more neurons t ha n a more modest sized bra in. Ma ybe t he huma n bra in a ct ua lly ha s t he most neurons of a ny bra in, rega rdless of it s
size, especia lly in t he cerebra l cort ex. So t his t o me beca me t he import a nt quest ion t o a nswer:
how ma ny neurons does t he huma n bra in ha ve, a nd how does t ha t compa re t o ot her a nima ls?
3:55
Now, you ma y ha ve hea rd or rea d somewhere t ha t we ha ve 100 billion neurons, so 10 yea rs a go, I
a sked my collea gues if t hey knew where t his number ca me f rom. But nobody did. I've been
digging t hrough t he lit era t ure f or t he origina l ref erence f or t ha t number, a nd I could never f ind it .
It seems t ha t nobody ha d a ct ua lly ever count ed t he number of neurons in t he huma n bra in, or in
a ny ot her bra in f or t ha t ma t t er.
4:17
So I ca me up wit h my own wa y t o count cells in t he bra in, a nd it essent ia lly consist s of dissolving
t ha t bra in int o soup. It works like t his: You t a ke a bra in, or pa rt s of t ha t bra in, a nd you dissolve it

in det ergent , which dest roys t he cell membra nes but keeps t he cell nuclei int a ct , so you end up
wit h a suspension of f ree nuclei t ha t looks like t his, like a clea r soup. T his soup cont a ins a ll t he
nuclei t ha t once were a mouse bra in. Now, t he bea ut y of a soup is t ha t beca use it is soup, you
ca n a git a t e it a nd ma ke t hose nuclei be dist ribut ed homogeneously in t he liquid, so t ha t now by
looking under t he microscope a t just f our or f ive sa mples of t his homogeneous solut ion, you ca n
count nuclei, a nd t heref ore t ell how ma ny cells t ha t bra in ha d. It 's simple, it 's st ra ight f orwa rd, a nd
it 's rea lly f a st . So we've used t ha t met hod t o count neurons in dozens of dif f erent species so
f a r, a nd it t urns out t ha t a ll bra ins a re not ma de t he sa me wa y. T a ke rodent s a nd prima t es, f or
inst a nce: In la rger rodent bra ins, t he a vera ge size of t he neuron increa ses, so t he bra in inf la t es
very ra pidly a nd ga ins size much f a st er t ha n it ga ins neurons. But prima t e bra ins ga in neurons
wit hout t he a vera ge neuron becoming a ny la rger, which is a very economica l wa y t o a dd neurons
t o your bra in. T he result is t ha t a prima t e bra in will a lwa ys ha ve more neurons t ha n a rodent bra in
of t he sa me size, a nd t he la rger t he bra in, t he la rger t his dif f erence will be. Well, wha t a bout our
bra in t hen? We f ound t ha t we ha ve, on a vera ge, 86 billion neurons, 16 billion of which a re in t he
cerebra l cort ex, a nd if you consider t ha t t he cerebra l cort ex is t he sea t of f unct ions like
a wa reness a nd logica l a nd a bst ra ct rea soning, a nd t ha t 16 billion is t he most neurons t ha t a ny
cort ex ha s, I t hink t his is t he simplest expla na t ion f or our rema rka ble cognit ive a bilit ies. But just
a s import a nt is wha t t he 86 billion neurons mea n. Beca use we f ound t ha t t he rela t ionship
bet ween t he size of t he bra in a nd it s number of neurons could be described ma t hema t ica lly, we
could ca lcula t e wha t a huma n bra in would look like if it wa s ma de like a rodent bra in. So, a rodent
bra in wit h 86 billion neurons would weigh 36 kilos. T ha t 's not possible. A bra in t ha t huge would be
crushed by it s own weight , a nd t his impossible bra in would go in t he body of 89 t ons. I don't t hink
it looks like us.
6:45
So t his brings us t o a very import a nt conclusion a lrea dy, which is t ha t we a re not rodent s. T he
huma n bra in is not a la rge ra t bra in. Compa red t o a ra t , we might seem specia l, yes, but t ha t 's
not a f a ir compa rison t o ma ke, given t ha t we know t ha t we a re not rodent s. We a re prima t es, so
t he correct compa rison is t o ot her prima t es. And t here, if you do t he ma t h, you f ind t ha t a
generic prima t e wit h 86 billion neurons would ha ve a bra in of a bout 1.2 kilos, which seems just
right , in a body of some 66 kilos, which in my ca se is exa ct ly right , which brings us t o a very
unsurprising but st ill incredibly import a nt conclusion: I a m a prima t e. And a ll of you a re prima t es.
7:29
And so wa s Da rwin. I love t o t hink t ha t Da rwin would ha ve rea lly a pprecia t ed t his. His bra in, like
ours, wa s ma de in t he ima ge of ot her prima t e bra ins.
7:40
So t he huma n bra in ma y be rema rka ble, yes, but it is not specia l in it s number of neurons. It is
just a la rge prima t e bra in. I t hink t ha t 's a very humbling a nd sobering t hought t ha t should remind
us of our pla ce in na t ure.
7:53
Why does it cost so much energy, t hen? Well, ot her people ha ve f igured out how much energy t he
huma n bra in a nd t ha t of ot her species cost s, a nd now t ha t we knew how ma ny neurons ea ch
bra in wa s ma de of , we could do t he ma t h. And it t urns out t ha t bot h huma n a nd ot her bra ins
cost a bout t he sa me, a n a vera ge of six ca lories per billion neurons per da y. So t he t ot a l
energet ic cost of a bra in is a simple, linea r f unct ion of it s number of neurons, a nd it t urns out

t ha t t he huma n bra in cost s just a s much energy a s you would expect . So t he rea son why t he
huma n bra in cost s so much energy is simply beca use it ha s a huge number of neurons, a nd
beca use we a re prima t es wit h ma ny more neurons f or a given body size t ha n a ny ot her a nima l,
t he rela t ive cost of our bra in is la rge, but just beca use we're prima t es, not beca use we're specia l.
8:41
La st quest ion, t hen: how did we come by t his rema rka ble number of neurons, a nd in pa rt icula r, if
grea t a pes a re la rger t ha n we a re, why don't t hey ha ve a la rger bra in t ha n we do, wit h more
neurons? When we rea lized how much expensive it is t o ha ve a lot of neurons in t he bra in, I
f igured, ma ybe t here's a simple rea son. T hey just ca n't a f f ord t he energy f or bot h a la rge body
a nd a la rge number of neurons. So we did t he ma t h. We ca lcula t ed on t he one ha nd how much
energy a prima t e get s per da y f rom ea t ing ra w f oods, a nd on t he ot her ha nd, how much energy a
body of a cert a in size cost s a nd how much energy a bra in of a cert a in number of neurons cost s,
a nd we looked f or t he combina t ions of body size a nd number of bra in neurons t ha t a prima t e
could a f f ord if it a t e a cert a in number of hours per da y.
9:25
And wha t we f ound is t ha t beca use neurons a re so expensive, t here is a t ra deof f bet ween body
size a nd number of neurons. So a prima t e t ha t ea t s eight hours per da y ca n a f f ord a t most 53
billion neurons, but t hen it s body ca nnot be a ny bigger t ha n 25 kilos. T o weigh a ny more t ha n
t ha t , it ha s t o give up neurons. So it 's eit her a la rge body or a la rge number of neurons. When you
ea t like a prima t e, you ca n't a f f ord bot h.
9:53
One wa y out of t his met a bolic limit a t ion would be t o spend even more hours per da y ea t ing, but
t ha t get s da ngerous, a nd pa st a cert a in point , it 's just not possible. Gorilla s a nd ora ngut a ns, f or
inst a nce, a f f ord a bout 30 billion neurons by spending eight a nd a ha lf hours per da y ea t ing, a nd
t ha t seems t o be a bout a s much a s t hey ca n do. Nine hours of f eeding per da y seems t o be t he
pra ct ica l limit f or a prima t e.
10:17
Wha t a bout us? Wit h our 86 billion neurons a nd 60 t o 70 kilos of body ma ss, we should ha ve t o
spend over nine hours per da y every single da y f eeding, which is just not f ea sible. If we a t e like a
prima t e, we should not be here.
10:37
How did we get here, t hen? Well, if our bra in cost s just a s much energy a s it should, a nd if we
ca n't spend every wa king hour of t he da y f eeding, t hen t he only a lt erna t ive, rea lly, is t o somehow
get more energy out of t he sa me f oods. And rema rka bly, t ha t ma t ches exa ct ly wha t our
a ncest ors a re believed t o ha ve invent ed one a nd a ha lf million yea rs a go, when t hey invent ed
cooking. T o cook is t o use f ire t o pre-digest f oods out side of your body. Cooked f oods a re
sof t er, so t hey're ea sier t o chew a nd t o t urn complet ely int o mush in your mout h, so t ha t a llows
t hem t o be complet ely digest ed a nd a bsorbed in your gut , which ma kes t hem yield much more
energy in much less t ime. So cooking f rees t ime f or us t o do much more int erest ing t hings wit h
our da y a nd wit h our neurons t ha n just t hinking a bout f ood, looking f or f ood, a nd gobbling down
f ood a ll da y long.
11:33

So beca use of cooking, wha t once wa s a ma jor lia bilit y, t his la rge, da ngerously expensive bra in
wit h a lot of neurons, could now become a ma jor a sset , now t ha t we could bot h a f f ord t he
energy f or a lot of neurons a nd t he t ime t o do int erest ing t hings wit h t hem. So I t hink t his
expla ins why t he huma n bra in grew t o become so la rge so f a st in evolut ion, a ll of t he while
rema ining just a prima t e bra in. Wit h t his la rge bra in now a f f orda ble by cooking, we went ra pidly
f rom ra w f oods t o cult ure, a gricult ure, civiliza t ion, grocery st ores, elect ricit y, ref rigera t ors, a ll of
t hose t hings t ha t nowa da ys a llow us t o get a ll t he energy we need f or t he whole da y in a single
sit t ing a t your f a vorit e f a st f ood joint . So wha t once wa s a solut ion now beca me t he problem,
a nd ironica lly, we look f or t he solut ion in ra w f ood.
12:27
So wha t is t he huma n a dva nt a ge? Wha t is it t ha t we ha ve t ha t no ot her a nima l ha s? My a nswer
is t ha t we ha ve t he la rgest number of neurons in t he cerebra l cort ex, a nd I t hink t ha t 's t he
simplest expla na t ion f or our rema rka ble cognit ive a bilit ies. And wha t is it t ha t we do t ha t no
ot her a nima l does, a nd which I believe wa s f unda ment a l t o a llow us t o rea ch t ha t la rge, la rgest
number of neurons in t he cort ex? In t wo words, we cook. No ot her a nima l cooks it s f ood. Only
huma ns do. And I t hink t ha t 's how we got t o become huma n.
13:01
St udying t he huma n bra in cha nged t he wa y I t hink a bout f ood. I now look a t my kit chen, a nd I
bow t o it , a nd I t ha nk my a ncest ors f or coming up wit h t he invent ion t ha t proba bly ma de us
huma ns. T ha nk you very much. (Appla use)

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