Albert Einstein's brain very often became the object of research and speculation. It was extracted 7 hours after the death of an outstanding physicist. The scientist's brain attracted public attention, since Einstein was considered one of the most brilliant thinkers of the XX century. Einstein’s brain structure features were used to support various ideas about the correlation between brain neuroanatomy and genius. Scientific studies have shown that the areas of Einstein’s brain responsible for speech and language are reduced, while the areas responsible for processing numerical and spatial information are enlarged [1] . Other studies have found an increase in the number of neuroglial cells [2] .
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Einstein Brain Extraction and Preservation
On April 17, 1955, a 76-year-old physicist was taken to Princeton Hospital complaining of chest pain. The next morning, Einstein died of massive hemorrhage after rupture of an aortic aneurysm . Einstein’s brain was recovered and stored Thomas Stoltz Harvey , the pathologist who performed the autopsy on the scientist. Harvey hoped that cytoarchitectonics would provide useful information. Through the internal carotid artery, he injected a 10% formalin solution, and subsequently stored an intact brain in a 10% formalin solution. Harvey photographed the brain from various angles and then cut it into approximately 240 blocks. He packed the resulting segments in a colloidal film. Apparently, he was fired from Princeton Hospital shortly after he refused to give up the organs [3] .
Scientific study of the structure of the brain
1984 Work
The first scientific work devoted to the study of Einstein's brain was carried out by Mariana Diamond, Amold Szheibel, Green Murphy and Thomas Harvey and published in the journal Experimental Neurology in 1984. The work compared the 9th and 39th fields of Broadman from both hemispheres of the brain. The result of the work was the conclusion that the ratio of the number of neuroglial cells to neurons in Einstein, in the 39th field of the left hemisphere, exceeds the average level of the control group [4] .
The study was criticized by Kansa ( Eng. SS Kantha ) of the Osaka Institute of Biological Sciences, and of the University of Pace . The disadvantage of this study is that only 11 people were used for comparison, which were on average 12 years younger than Einstein on the day of his death. The exact number of neurons and neuroglial cells was not calculated; instead, their ratios are shown. At the same time, too small areas of the brain were examined. These factors do not allow a generalized conclusion [5] .
1996 Work
The second scientific work was published in 1996. According to her, Einstein’s brain weighs 1230 g, which is less than the average brain weight of an ordinary adult male at this age, amounting to 1400 g. In the same work, it was found that the density of neurons in Einstein’s cerebral cortex is much higher than the average values [6] .
1999 Work
The last article was published in the medical journal The Lancet in June 1999. In it, Einstein's brain was compared with samples of the brain of people whose average age was 57 years old. Large areas of the brain of the scientist were identified and responsible for the ability to mathematics. And also, it turned out that Einstein’s brain is 15 percent wider than average.
Ethical Dilemma
The issue of obtaining authorization for a scientist’s autopsy is shrouded in fog. Einstein’s biography written by Ronald Clark in 1970 states: “... he insisted that his brain be used for scientific research and his body was cremated .”
An autopsy pathologist Thomas Harvey admitted: "I just knew that we had permission to do an autopsy, I also thought that we were going to study the brain." However, recent studies suggest that this is not true and the brain was removed and preserved without the permission of both Einstein himself and his close relatives [3] .
The son of a scientist, Hans Albert Einstein, agreed to extract the brain after the fact. He insisted that his father’s brain should be used only for scientific research, with subsequent publication of the results in the most famous scientific journals.
Facts
- Einstein's brain weighed 1,230 grams, with an average of about 1,400 grams.
Einstein on the reasons for his genius
| The most beautiful feeling in the world is a feeling of mystery. [...] I am experiencing the greatest excitement before the riddle of life. This feeling creates beauty and truth, gives rise to physical science. |
Links
- d / f Riddles of the Dead: Einstein's Genius ( National Geographic , 2006)
- the plot in the transmission of the series "Dark Matter: Confused, but True" channel Discovery Science
Notes
- ↑ Einstein's brain (Russian) // Knowledge is power . - 1999. - No. 9-10 .
- ↑ Artyom Nedoluzhko. How they discovered the secret of Einstein's genius . Pravda.Ru (02.22.2007). Date of treatment June 23, 2009. Archived March 24, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Brian Burrell . The Long, Strange Journey of Einstein's Brain (Eng.) // Postcards from the Museum of the Brain = Postcards From the Brain Museum. - 2005.
- ↑ Marian C. Diamond, Arnold B. Scheibel, Greer M. Murphy Jr., Thomas Harvey. On the brain of a scientist: Albert Einstein (Eng.) // ScienceDirect. - USA: Elsevier Science, April 1985. - Vol. 88, Issue 1. - P. 198-204. - DOI : 10.1016 / j.physletb.2003.10.071 .
- ↑ Einstein's brain . Medical information and consultation system (Source: Vesti.ru ). Date of treatment June 23, 2009. Archived March 24, 2012.
- ↑ Albert Einstein - A True Genius's Brain . Emory University Science Education Center. - An abstract of the works of those who studied Einstein's brain. Date of treatment June 23, 2009. Archived March 24, 2012.