One recent finding in the field of neuroscience has to do with the brain famous physicist Albert Einstein. Einstein, one of the geniuses of the 20th century, is most famous for his theory of relativity. Luckily for mankind, before dying in 1955, he donated his brain to science. A study of this specimen has led scientists to find out why Einstein was so intelligent.

The study of Einstein's brain was conducted at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. On June 19, 1999, it was reported that the area of Einstein's brain that was associated with mathematics was 15% wider than in a normal human brain. It was also found that the longitudinal fissure that separated the two cerebral hemispheres did not extend all the way down into his brain. This may have allowed neurons in this area to establish connections and work together more easily.

Although Einstein's brain weighed a third of a pound less than the average three-pound adult male brain, some regions in it had higher glial cell concentrations. Glial cells feed neurons, and researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have suggested that these extra cells were used to sustain Einstein's high-power neurons.

The researchers at McMaster compared Einstein's brain to the brains of 35 men and 56 women who were all of normal intelligence when they died. Two separate tests were conducted with the men's brain: one test was done with all the brains, and another test was done with the eight brains from men who were similar to Einstein's age when they died. Einstein's brain was normal in every respect except for the missing groove and the inferior parietal lobes. These lobes are involved in mathematics, music, and vision. This may be the reason that Einstein was a genius, but the evidence is not completely conclusive. Further tests will probably be conducted to compare Einstein's brain to the brains of today's mathematicians and physicists.