Study Reveals Younger Generation Has Bigger Brains, What's the Impact?
- The human brain influences all aspects of a person's daily life. It turns out that human brains evolved to be larger than those of other primates.
The increase in the average size of the human brain turns out to have a good impact, what are they?
Increase in brain size
A recent 2024 study published in the journal JAMA Neurology described more than 3,000 Americans born in the 1970s as having an overall brain volume 6.6 percent larger than those born in the 1930s.
One particular part of the brain, called the hippocampus, plays a major role in memory and learning.
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The study also revealed that the human hippocampus increased by 5.7 percent in volume over the generations studied.
Impact of increasing brain size
The increase in human brain size allows us to think more complexly, learn more quickly, remember more information, solve problems more creatively, and communicate more effectively.
In addition, as reported by Science Alert, the absolute risk of dementia appears to be decreasing in the younger generation. Apart from brain size, it may be due to a healthier lifestyle and parenting patterns.
In the past three decades, the incidence of dementia in the US and Europe has decreased by about 13 percent each decade.
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Factors increasing brain size
This increase in human brain size occurred gradually over millions of years.
Scientists are still researching the factors that drove the evolution of larger human brains, some of the main hypotheses include:
1. Use of tools
The use of tools by early humans required more complex motor and cognitive skills. This encourages brain development.
2. Language development
The ability to communicate with complex language requires a larger brain area.
3. Adaptation to the environment
Complex and challenging environmental changes make humans learn and adapt at a higher level. This encourages the development of a larger brain.