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Researchers at Tel Aviv University have conducted a study looking at brain connectivity in 130 mammalian species, including humans.
The results contradict years of assumptions, but shouldn't really be that surprising. "We discovered that brain connectivity - namely the efficiency of information transfer through the neural network - does not depend on either size or structure of any specific brain."
"The brains of all mammals, from tiny mice through humans to large bulls and dolphins, exhibit equal connectivity."
The brains were from already dead animals obtained from the Kimron Veterinary Institute.
Many of these animals' brains had never before been MRI scanned, and so a unique database has also been generated through this study.
The technology used detects white matter in the brain, and enabled researchers to reconstruct a neural network - neurons and their axons through which information travels, and the synapses where they meet.
They found that information travels from one location to another through the same number of synapses in all mammals. But they found variations in connectivity compensation not only characterize certain species, but also individuals within a species.
Conservation of Brain Connectivity: "This law denotes that the efficiency of information transfer in the brain's neural network is equal in all mammals. We also discovered a compensation mechanism which balances the connectivity in a specific area of the brain. This mechanism ensures that high connectivity in a specific part of the brain, possibly manifested through some special talent (e.g. sports or music), is always countered by relatively low connectivity in another part of the brain."
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