How Einstein’s Unique Brain Made Him Smarter

Although Albert Einstein's intelligence far exceeded the average, his brain was, intriguingly, smaller than the average man's. A typical adult male brain weighs around 3 pounds (1,400 g) Einstein’s weighed 2.64 pounds (1,197 g) While smaller overall, a crucial section of his brain was 15% wider than average. The inferior parietal lobe is the region of the brain associated with visual and spatial reasoning. This brain area would have been crucial to coming up with Einstein’s famous theory of general relativity, which describes how a massive object can bend space-time around it, much like how planets move in a curved path around the sun.

In 1999, a team at Canada’s McMaster University led by neuroscientist Sandra Wit Elson discovered his parietal lobe was wider than normal because it lacked a groove found in normal brains. The Sylvian fissure, also known as the lateral sulcus, usually separates the frontal and parietal lobes from the temporal lobe. However, in Einstein’s brain, this big crevice was largely absent; the rear end was shorter or truncated. It did not extend as far into the parietal lobe as it does in most people's brains. This expanded Einstein’s parietal lobe, making it wider than normal.

When Einstein died in 1955 at a New Jersey hospital, the pathologist who performed the autopsy removed his brain and kept it for himself. Dr. Thomas Harvey later convinced Einstein’s son to allow him to keep it for research. These labels were added by Harvey. He cut Einstein’s brain into 240 blocks and stored them in a cardboard box in his office in a mason jar and in a cookie, jar preserved in gelatinous material. Dr. Harvey procrastinated and never actually published any research. He did create 2,400 slides containing thin sections of Einstein’s brain tissue to be examined under a microscope and sent them off to other scientists who revealed fascinating insights.

 In 2001, Dr. Dahlia Zaidel of the University of California, Los Angeles, examined two slices of Einstein’s brain containing the hippocampus, which plays a crucial role in learning and memory. She found that the neurons on the left side of Einstein's hippocampus were larger than those on the right. The left hemisphere is primarily responsible for logical thinking, analytical processing, and mathematical abilities. Larger neurons in the left hippocampus suggested stronger nerve cell connections between the hippocampus and the neocortex, which is the command center of the brain involved in high-level thinking.

In addition to the asymmetry in Einstein's hippocampus, researchers also found that the bundle of nerve fibers connecting the two hemispheres of his brain called the corpus callosum was thicker than average. In 2013, researchers from China and the US found that Einstein's corpus callosum, denoted in red, was thicker than those in the control group of elderly men denoted in blue, and also thicker than most of those in the younger control group of men 24 to 30 years old, denoted in green. This increased thickness likely facilitated better communication between the left and right hemispheres, contributing to Einstein's exceptional cognitive abilities.

 It can be likened to a wider bridge between two cities, enabling faster transportation of people and goods and improved overall connectivity. Dr. Harvey also sent off four slices of Einstein’s brain in a mayonnaise jar to neuroscientist Marian Diamond of the University of California Berkeley Her study, published in 1985, concluded that Einstein’s brain had more support cells than average. These red and blue structures are called glial cells - aptly named from the Greek word 'glee-all', meaning 'glue'. They play a critical role in nourishing and protecting the neurons.

 Additional protection might have allowed his neurons to function more effectively. Remarkably, Einstein’s brain didn’t show any signs of aging. Even at the age of 76, his brain had no traces of lipofuscin, the fine yellow-brown pigment granules associated with "wear and tear" in the human brain, similar to how an old car might accumulate rust over time. It’s believed Einstein was born this way rather than being influenced by environmental factors. But it doesn’t mean our brains can’t change. Dr. Diamond was the first to show that the brain can change and improve at ANY age.

Her work with rats demonstrated that those who played with mazes, ladders, wheels, and their companions had larger brain cells and a greater number of glial cells compared to rats that were kept isolated with no toys. The implication is that all animals, including humans, benefit from an enriched environment, and impoverished environments can lower the capacity to learn. This is now called plasticity of the brain. And it has powerful implications for what we’re capable of achieving. According to Einstein’s wishes, his body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in a secret spot by the Delaware River. He didn’t want his body to be worshipped. But Einstein’s biographer said that, “He had insisted his brain be used for research…” Even after nearly 70 years, Einstein’s brain still has so much to teach the world.