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Brain and Body Size

What is the relationship between brain and body size?

In this table, all the animal heads are approximately in proportion to each other (and each respective brain is in relation to its owner). Can you look at this table and make any observations about brain and body size?

Bibliography

Angevine, J., Cotman, C. "Principles of Neuroanatomy". New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1981.

Bloom, F. "Brain, Mind, and Behavior". New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Co., 1985.

Butler, A. "Comparative Vertebrate Neuroanatomy". New York, NY: Wiley-Liss, 1996.

Carey, P. "Creating Web Pages with HTML". Cambridge, MA: Carey Associates, Inc., 1999.

Chiassen, R., Radke, W. "Laboratory Anatomy of the Vertebrates". Dubuque, Iowa: WCB Publishers, 1993.

Cohen, M., Strumwasser, F. "Comparative Neurobiology". New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, 1985.

Deacon, T. "What Makes the Human Brain Different?" Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 26, p. 337-57, 1997.

Eccles, J. "The Understanding of the Brain". New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1973.

Heinz, S., Baron, G., Frahm, H. "Comparative Size of Brains and Brain Components". Neurosciences: Comparative Primate Biology, Vol. 4, New York, NY: Alan R. Liss, Inc., 1988.

Jerison, H. "Evolution of the Brain and Intelligence". New York, NY: Academic Press, 1973.

Karger, S., "Central Nervous System of Vertebrates". Vol. 3, Part II. New York, NY: Arnold-Backlin-Strasse, 1973.

Kesner, R., Olton, D. ed. "Neurobiology of Comparative Cognition". Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1990.

Kuhlenbeck, H. "Central Nervous System of Vertebrates". Vol. 3, Part II, New York, NY: Arnold-Backlin-Strasse, 1973.

Macphail, E. "Brain and Intelligence in Vertebrates". Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1982.

Anne Dalke's picture

link between poverty and education?

Submitted by Anne Dalke on Mon, 12/12/2011 - 8:29pm

From y'day's New York Times Opinion Pages, on the unaddressed link between poverty and education: Class Matters. Why Won't We Admit It? 

Links

Websites on Brains and Intelligence

Neuroscience for Kids

Brain Size, Evolution, and Behavioral Complexity

Allometry

Brains, Behavior, and Intelligence in Cetaceans

Animal Minds

The Brain from Top to Bottom

General Websites on Animals

Electronic Zoo

National Geographic

Neurons

What are brains made of?

Remember when we were talking about similarities and differences between the various brains? Did you think about whether each brain is made of a different material? 

What do you think human and animal brains are made of? Click the button below to find out!

What is Intelligence

How do we define intelligence? What does it mean to be highly evolved? Why are humans considered to be "higher" vertebrates than frogs?

side view of headOften we define intelligence with respect to human qualities. Thus, as we tend to consider ourselves as the most intelligent species, we compare other species to ourselves. Yet, is this really possible? One scientist suggests that humans tend to ignore any intelligence that is somewhat different than our own: "We willingly accept the idea of intelligence in a lifeform only if the intelligence displayed is on the same evolutionary wavelength as our own. Technology automicatically indicates intelligence. An absence of technology translates into an absence of intelligence."

There is no certain basis for the assumption that all intelligence is human-like intelligence. Indeed, there are undeniable trends, such as large brains in mammals and larger neocortices in primates, but to generalize these correlations cannot always be done.

Truly, intelligence seems to be relative, in that it evolves to fulfill the needs of the particular species. How, then, can we truly compare the intelligence of a crocodile with that of a whale or that of a human?

Utitofon's picture

Classed Memories

Submitted by Utitofon on Mon, 12/12/2011 - 8:28pm

Wow. Was i amazed? More than. I loved the various presentation formats of all the other groups.  Chandrea has already summarized our group objective. I based my slam/speech whatever it was, on the phrases that stuck with me throughout the class - words i will still remember a year from now.

Scarcity

Time-poor versus money-poor

Rich shame versus poor shame

Room size versus pocket size

class - bridge - divide

The questions at the end were meant to provoke thought, especially the 'Can we really bridge the class divide?'. I asked the question in the hope that our conversation does not end up as 3 months of academic noise and freshman memories, but as something more concrete - that changes the face of class at Bryn Mawr.

This was an extra class in its own right and a unique learning experience for me. The piece on space made me remember the discussion we had on ownership. I remember how i moved from answering that i could claim full ownership of my dorm room to doubting myself, when someone pointed out the issues involved in claiming a space you share?

I noticed that in the creative assignment, some students came out and identified with their class. It was therefore interesting to me when Chandrea said after the performance that she might as well flaunt hers. It was a 'go girl' moment for me.  And for 5 minutes I enjoyed the thrill of changing class with the wheel game. I could go on and on, but there's other stuff to do.

Mfon

Neurons in Animals

Is every nervous system of every animal made of the same kind of neuron?

Click on the brains to find out!

group of brains

nbnguyen's picture

reflection about final performance

Submitted by nbnguyen on Mon, 12/12/2011 - 7:08pm

My performance is inspired by my previous perception about the United States. Before coming here, everything I knew about this country was through the media. Through this class, I recognize that the US is not always as dreamy as I thought. There are a lot of downsides. Furthermore, I also realize the importance of the media to form my perception about the society and this perception is somehow stereotyped and biased. And I think most people all have the same problems. It is easy to make assumptions and judgement about other people based on their apprearance and language. This powerpoint aims to make me and the rest of the class to correct the wrong perception and become more impartial

essietee's picture

Round and Round and Round in the Circle Game

Submitted by essietee on Mon, 12/12/2011 - 5:49pm

"The Circle Game" - Joni Mitchell

When I walked into Taylor Hall for our first class meeting not so long ago, I have to admit that I was quite a bit nervous. Having never taken a formal course in Gender and Sexuality Studies, I was something of a small fish in a big pond. My familiarity with GenSex is entirely self-educated: several of my friends who’ve taken courses always joke that I should be a concentrator in this department solely because of the collection of pertinent literature strewn throughout my room.

This course has taught me an incredible amount of formal knowledge, specifically in regard to the interdisciplinary nature of our studies. I recently completed an interdisciplinary semester of study away from Bryn Mawr and was thoroughly excited to apply the principles of academic and personal connectivity to my studies back on my home turf. I knew that the three acts would flow into each other, but had no idea as to how seamlessly they would do so. Yes, there was a definite change in subject matter, reading material, and personal participation (I have much more experience with disability than I do with biological sciences, and was slightly more vocal in the former section than the later).

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Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities

Scanning electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2

Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities has 50 remote-ready activities, which work for either your classroom or remote teaching.

Narrative is determined not by a desire to narrate but by a desire to exchange. (Roland Barthes, S/Z)

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