by Ms. C. Jones

Created on: October 31, 2008   Last Updated: December 10, 2008

Understanding the human brain is no easy task. Human intelligence seems to have developed from small refinements in brain architecture. Other animals, such as the parrot cannot solve mathematical equations and dolphins cannot write poetry.

Researchers have looked at the unique features of the brain to try to account for our superior intellectual abilities. Anatomically, the human brain is very similar to other primates. The human brain is densely packed with over 11 billion cortical neurons(brain cells), far out numbering out closest relatives, the primates. Humans have half a billion more cortical neurons than whales and elephants. The brain is made up of nerve cells(neurons) and glia. The more neurons, the more extensive and productive neuronal networks are. These very networks determine various brain functions such as perception, memory, planning and thinking.

Interestingly, a brain's information-processing capacity really depends on how fast its nerves conduct electrical impulses. Myelinated nerves covered in a thick sheath transmit information at a much faster rate than other mammals that have thinner myelinated sheaths, such as the elephant.

Among humans' we have cerebral advantages, such as language. Grammar and vocabulary develop exponentially by the age of three. This is when the Broca's area(speech) develops in the left frontal lobe. This area is unique to humans. Language is a recent human evolutionary development (80000 to 100000) years ago. It was an enhancement to human intellect.

Another unique feature of the human brain is the ability to detect errors. People make mistakes, hence we have car accidents every day. There is a region of the brain called the medial frontal cortex and it plays a key role in detecting mistakes that people have made. The neurons become active when humans make mistakes and then behaviours are changed.

Much of our ability to learn comes from mistakes. When we make a mistake, a neurotransmitter called dopamine is deeply involved in preventing human error. The brain recognizes errors and slip ups and it also responds to them. After an error is made, people carefully analyze the problem and switch to a different strategy for tackling the task. When the brain receives negative feedback, it acts accordingly and looks for reward and the reward is completing the task at hand using a different strategy. If you have ever observed a child trying to place shapes into a block with the shapes cut out(triangle or square) , the child will

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