Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Having a big brain can protect you from dementia

Having a large hippocampus - a part of the brain involved with memory - seems to provide protection against the symptoms of dementia:

A US team compared the brains of 35 people who had Alzheimer's "plaques", some of whom died with sharp minds and others who showed no dementia symptoms.

The hippocampus, an area at the base of the brain, was on average 20% larger in those with cognitive functions intact.

Brain size seems to also affect a person's intelligence and the benefits of having a large brain are not limited to humans.

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