HEADS AND BRAINS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 33, 9 February 1939, Page 10

HEADS AND BRAINS.

SIZE NO CRITERION.

Big heads are not infallible evidence of the possession of mental powers above the average, but there is some correlation between the size of the head and the size of the brain, "from anthropology alone, even though there were no other collateral line* of evidence, there is abundant proof of the fact that an increasing complexity of mental functions necessitates an increasingly large brain and a correspondingly large skull for iU accommodation." states I>r. Richard A. Berry, director of medical services at Stok«s Park "colony for mental defectives, at Stapleton, England. "There would appear to be an appreciable correlation between brain weight and general racial intelligence," continues Dr. Berry in his introduction to "Stoke Park Monographs on Mental Deficiency, ami Other Problems of the Human Brain and Mind." The average brain weight of the Australian aboriginal, who is very low down in the scale of intelligence, is" ]18.~> grammes; the average of the nem-o i« 1244 grammes, and of the European 1:M.5 grammes. It has been proved that the majority of mental defectives have small heads and small brains, the weight of the brain in many cases being little more than half that of the average man <>l the same race. Moreover, there is evidence to support the belief that persons of exceptional intelligence have large brains. Dr. Berry writes: "Spjtzka in l<loo collected the records of the brain weights of 100 distingmshed ~hm, and found the average weight to 1* 1«».K» grammes, or fully 100 grammes above the average for Europeans." But when the subject of brains and intelligence was discussed several years ago at a meeting of the Royal .Society of Medicine in London, one emment doctor stated that although mental infectives are nearly always undersized, this <!<"•* not mean that tall, large-headed person* |'«.sse*s exceptional brains. Men with massive liUHls do not necessarily represent the intelliFor instance. Anatole France, the .anions amhor. had an extraordinarily small brain. The size of tile brain is not a dependable index of intellectual activities tall , n n tOlP f^ r -T' W, '° died in 19 * 5 > ™" * tall man of fairly robust figure, but his brain weighed considerably less than that of the average Frenchman. When hk brain was examined after his death it weighed 1017 grammes, whereas the brain of the average Frenchman weighs about 1409 grammes. The hi.ma,, brain reaches its maximum growth about the age of 20, and thereafter diminishes at the rate of about one gramme a year. Anatole France was 81 years of age when he died, and therefore the weight of his brain at -0 years was probably 00 grammes more than at death. Moreover, the membranes were not included in the weight at death, and would account for another (JO grammes. But even with these allowances it must be admitted that the great Anatole France had a small l>rain. In commenting at the time of his death on this fact, the "Revue de Moderne Medicine" said: Thus genius has no connection with the size of the brain, as has so often been believed. On the other hand, the circumvolutions of this author's brain were numerous and profound, and it is there doubtless that one should seek the reason for his intellectual superiority.' , fiambetta's brain also astonished scientists by its smallness. but it was not a* light as that of Anatole France. The Scholar's Brain. Sir Arbuthnot Lane, a famous English surgeon, gave expression to some interesting theories in regard to the human brain and the effect of education on it. particularly the effect of any special course of .education.' The brain cells, he said, are affected by any mental routine or habit of thought extending over a long period, and the development of a special sense often results in loss of what is called common sense, i.e., "the capacity to arrive at a conclusion the truth of which" would appeal to a number of people engaged in a varietv of occupations." The influence of surroundings •on the physical frame are well known, and Sir Arbuthnot Lane insisted that the brain is no exception to the rule in this respect. The human framework, though a hard bony structure, moulds itself to the requirements of the individual. Thus the coal heaver's backbone loses its normal curves as the result of adapting itself to the weight of the bags of coal which the coal heaver carries on his back, and is converted into a long, straight rod, or shelf, on which the load rests. This adaptation of the backbone to the coal heaver's occupation is of considerable benefit to him. but it tends to restrict hie breathing, and should he got lung trouble his chances of recovery are less than in the case of a man with normal breathing capacity. The shoemaker who sits cross-legged and bends over bis work, and other workers engaged in laborious (asks, all undergo physical changes adapted to their occupations. The general effect of this is to lessen the laboriousness of each class of work, but to shorten the lives of the individuals. The brain, according to Sir Arhnthnot Lane, undergoes similar changes and adaptations. How often, lie asked, does an eminent classic succeed in any scientific pursuit? How often does the fixation of the cells of the brain of the senior wrangler during hut a fraction of his lifetime render him ill-adapted to any suWipiciit career other than mathematical 'i He quoted as further examples of the fixation of the colls of the brain in social directions the unbusinesslike habits of doctors, and the attitude of clergymen to many of the problems of life. The brains of these men, he contended, have altered as the coal heaver's backbone has altered. As they become highly efficient in one direction, they lose efficiency in others.