IS BIGGER BETTER?

Does Size Really Matter? Over the centuries, there have been several debates and research papers on the topic "bigger is better". It's absolutely undeniable that size has been a very attractive concept in areas of intimacy. Women with huge rounded hips and breasts are greatly desired by most men. Equally, men with longer and bigger manhood with amazing body mass are incredibly attractive to most women. When asked whether size really matters, statistics show that both genders agree that it matters. It does seem that size really matters when it comes to muscle mass. However, could this be true for the human brain? Does big brain mean more intelligence or does it just mean a big head? in order to understand this, let's dive deep into the structures and compositions of the human brain as well as the significant interconnections that exist between those complex structures and how well they are related to each other.

a man with small brain vs a man with bigger brain, AI generated

From an evolutionary point of view, it is widely agreed upon by anthropologies that the human brain was initially very small, the same size as those of apes living today, as compared to the average modern human brain. One explanation for the relatively small size of the human brain of our ancestors could be due to the simple life they had lived. It could be viewed as though the human brain needs to be vigorously challenged in order for it to evolve by developing certain structures and networks that enable critical thinking and problem-solving. It could be conceptualized that the ancient man was challenged with ways to handle natural and artificial disasters that had a huge negative impact on their societies such as diseases, wars, and unfavorable climates. In order to ensure that the entire human genetic heritage is not lost for good, the human brain has, over millions of years, significantly increased in size to allow for greater capacity for specialized activities. Because the cortical regions of the human brain have higher cognitive functions, the cortical regions have greatly developed and expended, and greatly folded in ways that allow for more efficient processing of cognitive information. With the nature and sophistication of the modern era, there is no doubt that this great and incredible evolution of the human brain is inevitable. As our technological expertise, cultural and linguistic complexity advance, our brains have significantly grown to accommodate these changes. What we learn from the evolution of the human brain is that the brain of our ancestors, which was too small, would not have been able to handle the depth of planning, problem-solving and other more advanced cognition processes that the modern brain is able to effectively handle. Today, the adult human brain weighs about 1,400 g, which accounts for 2% of the total body weight. The big question is: Is Bigger Better? Is a person with more than the average human brain better than the one with the average human brain size? Does size really matter? The following paragraph clearly shows significant relationships.The human brain can be divided into four main parts: 

The Cerebrum which is responsible for higher functions like vision, hearing, speech, reasoning, learning, touch interpretation, fine control of movement and emotions. 

The Cerebellum which functions to coordinate muscles movements, maintain posture and balance.

The Diencephalon, which recognizes sensory impulses of heat, cold, pain, pressure etc.

The Brainstem which has many automatic functions such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, wake and sleep cycles, digestion, sneezing, coughing, vomiting, and swallowing. 

By Belomaad When citing cite https://sites.google.com/view/biologyerettsegi - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=109375890

The development and growth of the certain subregions of the human brain will mean more intelligence because these parts have higher cognitive function than others. Many scientific papers have reported some degree of positive association between brain size and IQ. However, it must be noted that these degrees of association is significantly low and must not be interpreted as "the bigger the size the greater the cognitive ability". It is, in fact, the development and growth of specific subregions within the cerebral cortex, the degree of folding of the cerebral cortex and the neuronal connections between the subregions within the cerebral cortex that accounts for this increased cognitive ability in people with bigger brains. Therefore, a bigger brain does not necessarily translate into intelligence. Broca’s Area controls motor function involved with speech production, while Wernicke's Area is responsible for comprehension of speech. Additionally, the Orbitofrontal Cortex enables us to predict the future since it helps us understand the consequences of complex behaviours and adjust those behaviours to reach a specific desired outcome. Size may be important, however, it is just a small part of the bigger picture. People with bigger brains without significant development and growth in certain subregions of the cerebral cortex will never translate into intelligence, while those with an average brain that have well developed subcortical region will have a much higher cognitive abilities than others.

Taken from NIH publication 97-4257, https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/aphasia (https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/health/voice/Aphasia6-1-16.pdf)