On Humans Prologue: The (Very Simple) Story of the Human Brain ~ Suzana Herculano-Houzel
Aug 28, 2025
In a captivating discussion, Suzana Herculano-Houzel, a Brazilian neuroscientist and professor at Vanderbilt University, delves into the intriguing world of brain evolution. She challenges the long-held belief that larger brains mean higher intelligence, emphasizing neuron counts instead. Herculano-Houzel highlights the evolutionary advantages of cooking and technology, and how they shaped our cognitive abilities. With fresh insights on the cerebral cortex's role in decision-making, she explores human uniqueness while comparing our brains to those of other species, painting a new picture of intelligence and longevity.
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Preprocess Food To Support Brain Growth
- Use food pre-processing (tools or cooking) to increase caloric intake and support larger brains.
- Herculano-Houzel links cooking and tool use to energy needed for extra cortical neurons.
What The Cortex Adds
- The cerebral cortex builds associations, simulates futures, and organizes more flexible behavior.
- Cortex horizontal connectivity enables internal pattern building beyond basic sensorimotor control.
Cortical Neuron Rankings
- Humans have ~16 billion cortical neurons, about twice that of gorillas and orangutans.
- Many species with high cognition cluster around hundreds of millions to a few billion cortical neurons.
