Brain Frontal Lobes Not Sole Center of Human Intelligence, Comparative Research Suggests

May 13, 2013
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130513152827.htm

Summary
People believe that the enlarged frontal lobes of the brain are responsible for human intelligence. Other areas of the brain, such as the cerebellum, are considered "primitive". However, in a study by Durham and Reading universities, these "primitive" areas are actually equally important in contributing to humans' superior cognitive abilities. For example, damage to the cerebellum is a factor for autism and dyslexia. When looking at the frontal lobes, the size of the frontal lobes are exactly the expected size if a non-human brain was scaled up to human size. Therefore, the human brain did not evolve only because of a size increase in the frontal lobes. Scientists from Durham and Reading universities argue that many of our abilities are carried out by brain networks linking different parts of the brain, and that these structures (rather than one enlarged brain area) are more critical for our intelligence and cognitive functioning.

Connection
This article connects to our unit on the skeletal, nervous, and muscular systems because it connects to the brain and the nervous system. For example, the article shows that the brain has many parts such as the frontal lobes and cerebellum, and the belief of what the different parts function for. The frontal lobes are generally viewed as responsible for human intelligence, but this article argues that this common fact might be wrong.