SCIENCE

Climate change in the past would have reduced the size of the human brain

It is nothing new that the climate of our planet undergoes periods of increasing temperature and periods of decreasing cold. In the past, these continuous climate changes would have contributed to a reduction in the size of the human brain. 

This was stated in a study by Natural History Museum in California researcher Jeff Morgan Stibel, who analysed available information on climate and human remains over a period of 50,000 years. Specifically, the dimensions of the skulls and brains of 298 Homo specimens were examined. An attempt was then made to understand how the size of these brains has changed over the last 50,000 years, also taking into account global temperature, humidity and precipitation.

What emerged from the study leaves one speechless: in fact, Stibel compared the results and realised that when the climate became warmer, the average brain size decreased significantly compared to when it was colder.

Freepik
Climate change has reduced the size of the human brain
What emerged from the study leaves one speechless: in fact, Stibel compared the results, and realised that when the weather got warmer, the average brain size decreased significantly compared to when it was colder.
Freepik
The study conducted
This was stated in a study by Natural History Museum in California researcher Jeff Morgan Stibel, who analysed available information on climate and human remains over a period of 50,000 years. Specifically, the dimensions of the skulls and brains of 298 Homo specimens were examined. An attempt was then made to understand how the size of these brains has changed over the last 50,000 years, taking into account global temperature, humidity and precipitation.
Freepik
What did the study find
What emerged from the study leaves one speechless: in fact, Stibel compared the results, and realised that when the weather got warmer, the average brain size decreased significantly compared to when it was colder.
Freepik
An important study for the future as well
Since, unlike in the past, climate change today is produced by man-made emissions, this study can also be very helpful in predicting how our bodies and brains will adjust to higher temperatures on average than before. In his article, Stibel explains: 'Given recent global warming trends, it is crucial to understand the possible impact of climate change on the size of the human brain and ultimately on human behaviour'.
Freepik
Our brains are constantly evolving
Stibel further argues that our brain is constantly evolving, and that it is also capable of changing its biology even in relatively short periods of time: 'The most important thing to understand is that the human brain continues to evolve, we have found macroevolutionary trends in brain size that have occurred in just 5-17 thousand years. The Holocene warming period has led to a reduction of more than 10 per cent in brain size in modern humans. If global temperatures continue to rise, this could put more evolutionary pressure on the human brain'.
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25/04/2024
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