Thread: Northerners' brains are bigger, scientists find

Good news for our readers from the north: you are likely to have a bigger brain than your southern counterparts.


Image 1 of 2
Northerly populations have evolved to cope with dull, cloudy skies and short periods of daylight



Image 1 of 2
The average brain size in Micronesia, which lies very near the equator, was just 1,200ml Photo: ALAMY



Unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are more intelligent than people from the south – just that you have evolved to cope with the longer winters and greyer skies in northern climes.

A study of populations across both hemispheres has shown people from countries further from the equator have more grey matter and larger eyes than those from sunnier parts.

This is because living in low light conditions means the eyes and brain need to work harder in order to process images to a good level of detail, or “high resolution”.

Researchers said the findings could theoretically even apply to different communities within a particular country, meaning people in the north of Britain might have larger brains than those in the south.

Northerly populations have evolved to cope with dull, cloudy skies and short periods of daylight since migrating to Europe and northern Asia as many as 40,000 years ago.

Analysis of 55 skulls from 12 countries, dating from the 1800s, showed that people in northern areas have evolved to grow larger eyes and visual areas of the brain.

Having wider pupils allows the eyes to take in more light, while a bigger retina is able to distinguish more detail, producing a higher-resolution image.
A larger optic nerve and a more sizeable area of the brain dedicated to processing sight are also needed for northern populations to see to the same level of detail as people from further south.
Researchers from Oxford University examined the volume of eye sockets and brain cavities in the skulls and found a direct link to the latitude of their country of origin.
While English people had an average brain size of 1,416ml, the figure in Micronesia, which lies very near the equator, was just 1,200ml.
In contrast Scandinavians, the most northerly population tested, had a brain capacity of 1,484ml - more than 20 per cent higher than Micronesia.
A similar difference was seen in eye volume, with English skulls indicating an average of 26.22ml, compared with 26.83 in Scandinavia and 21.83 in Micronesia.
Eiluned Pearce, a postgraduate student who led the research, said: "As you move away from the equator, there's less and less light available, so humans have had to evolve bigger and bigger eyes. Their brains also need to be bigger to deal with the extra visual input.
"Having bigger brains doesn't mean that higher latitude humans are smarter, it just means they need bigger brains to be able to see well where they live."
Although the tests did not examine differences between skulls from different parts of the same country, Ms Pearce said the data could in theory mean someone with an entirely Scottish or northern English heritage would have a larger brain and eyes than someone whose ancestors were all from the south of England.
Any difference would likely be minimal because the difference in light levels between the north and south is slight and interbreeding within Britain would dilute any evolutionary change, she added.
Co-author Professor Robin Dunbar, Director of the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford, said: "Humans have only lived at high latitudes in Europe and Asia for a few tens of thousands of years, yet they seem to have adapted their visual systems surprisingly rapidly to the cloudy skies, dull weather and long winters we experience at these latitudes."
The study took into account the fact that people living in more northerly areas are generally bigger overall and the possibility that eye socket size could also be linked to the need to have more fat to insulate the eyeball in cold weather.
Other research has shown that birds which sing earliest in the dawn chorus have relatively bigger eyes, and animals which are nocturnal have larger eyes than those that eat and forage during the day.
Northerners' brains are bigger, scientists find - Telegraph

Originally Posted by Bangyai

Good news for our readers from the north: you are likely to have a bigger brain than your southern counterparts.

This can clearly be seen on a Geo-micro level in the UK.

Originally Posted by Bangyai

people living in more northerly areas are generally bigger overall

Some men are longer than others - Braveheart...

Originally Posted by Bangyai

Researchers said the findings could theoretically even apply to different communities within a particular country, meaning people in the north of Britain might have larger brains than those in the south.

On the other hand , behavioral studies have indicated that this is extremely unlikely for anyone residing north of the Watford Gap. As for scousers , a lot of grey matter was found between the sphincter and testies whereas little was found in the cranium.

Well there you are, scientific proof that it's grim oop north.

Doesn't explain why Jocks have red hair though.

Originally Posted by withnallstoke

Doesn't explain why Jocks have red hair though.

They're living proof that vikings fucked these:

Originally Posted by withnallstoke

Doesn't explain why Jocks have red hair though.

I thought it was because they drink this?

^I just noticed a little optical illusion on that pic too.

Simple, have to figure out how to survive the winter.

So this is probably an Eskimo then

^Pattaya resident more likely.

That means my brain is nearly 1.5 litres or just over two and a half pints. I hope I don't spill any or leave it on the table when the glass collector comes around..

Cheers

Originally Posted by English Noodles

I thought it was because they drink this?

Made from girders, apparently.

WHY notherners are smarter ?-- basically because we get more variation from the sun, during development.

The future is orange - Times Online

'''Where and when you are born Research shows that the latitude of your birthplace and how much solar radiation you were exposed to in the womb affects your health, wealth, happiness, longevity and creativity. It is because one type of radiation emitted by the sun, ultraviolet (UVR), is believed to cause genetic changes in the developing baby that may have a shaping effect, either beneficial or harmfulreally does affect what happens throughout your life.

“This is not astrology, this is basic science. The sun has been around for a few billion years,” says Dr Davis. “It would be surprising if life did not march to its beat; 98 per cent of the time it is benevolent, but 1 or 2 per cent of the time it is destructive.”
Dr Davis and his team calculate that over the past 400 years, 54 per cent of mathematicians were born at a latitude of 53N. This could be because UVR variations are at their highest there, presenting a greater risk of disease, but also a greater chance of creativity.'''

It could explain why people in the tropics are often not so creative- not enough variation in the solar radiation to mix up there genes.


Looks on a map to see where I was born

53 degrees north !!!
proof its all true !!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm a northerner, so i was quite proud until i remembered from Anthropology 101 that Neanderthals had a much larger brain than Homo Sapiens....

I'm not sure how to feel now so I'll just pop out and club a woman over the head and drag her back to the cave.

^
Did you read the OP ?
It's about eyesight

Originally Posted by Thetyim

^
Did you read the OP ?
It's about eyesight

It's also about differences between people born close or far away from the Equator. Did you read the OP?
Or are you just a bit stupid?

Originally Posted by Thetyim

Did you read the OP ? It's about eyesight

He can read, as in putting the sounds together, but can't comprehend, as in understanding the sounds he's making.

Reading and writing is a rather large learning curve for this one.

Originally Posted by English Noodles

Originally Posted by Thetyim

Did you read the OP ? It's about eyesight

He can read, as in putting the sounds together, but can't comprehend, as in understanding the sounds he's making.

Reading and writing is a rather large learning curve for this one.

Hey Noodles. How's the "All Denim" look going? Have you managed to pull in your "All Denim" outfit without bar-fining?

You desperate much?

Not as desperate as a down on his luck Geordie who dresses head to toe in Denim!!!

Post a photo of your Denim Y fronts Noodles!! and your Denim socks while you're at it!!

Originally Posted by phomsanuk

Simple, have to figure out how to survive the winter.

Agree. This is why tropical people are not so obsessed with planning for the future.

What we of northern heritage see as laziness or lack of foresight is simply a genetic response to plentiful food available year round -

Well Ok. It is laziness and lack of forethought