Bigger Not Necessarily Better, When It Comes to Brains ScienceDaily (Nov. 18, 2009) — Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London. 虽然某些动物大脑约针头般大，但智慧可不比大型动物差。 "Animals with bigger brains are not necessarily more intelligent," according to Lars Chittka, Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary's Research Centre for Psychology and University of Cambridge colleague, Jeremy Niven. This begs the important question: what are they for? "脑大不一定是好得" Lars Chittka说。 Research repeatedly shows how insects are capable of some intelligent behaviours scientists previously thought was unique to larger animals. Honeybees, for example, can count, categorise similar objects like dogs or human faces, understand 'same' and 'different', and differentiate between shapes that are symmetrical and asymmetrical. 例如蜜蜂可以计算、分辨狗与人脸、了解"相同"与"差异"、分辨对称与否。 "We know that body size is the single best way to predict an animal's brain size," explains Chittka, writing in the journal Current Biology. "However, contrary to popular belief, we can't say that brain size predicts their capacity for intelligent behaviour." "虽说身体大小可以预测脑的大小，但我们不能说脑的大小可以预测他们的智慧" Chittka 解释说。 Differences in brain size between animals is extreme: a whale's brain can weigh up to 9 kg (with over 200 billion nerve cells), and human brains vary between 1.25 kg and 1.45 kg (with an estimated 85 billion nerve cells). A honeybee's brain weighs only 1 milligram and contains fewer than a million nerve cells. 动物的脑的大小是很两极的，例如鲸鱼脑重达9公斤，人脑约1.25~1.45公斤，而蜜蜂只有 1mg左右。 While some increases in brain size do affect an animal's capability for intelligent behaviour, many size differences only exist in a specific brain region. This is often seen in animals with highly developed senses (like sight or hearing) or an ability to make very precise movements. The size increase allows the brain to function in greater detail, finer resolution, higher sensitivity or greater precision: in other words, more of the same. 某处大脑的增加的确和动物的能力有点关系，例如需要听力与视力再特定的区域就会 有比较大的差异。体积的增加是会帮助他处理的更好、更精确也更敏感。 Research suggests that bigger animals may need bigger brains simply because there is more to control -- for example they need to move bigger muscles and therefore need more and bigger nerves to move them. 研究建议大型动物可能需要大一点的脑，因为需要多一点的控制。例如他们需要大一点 的神经去控制大一点的肌肉。 Chittka says: "In bigger brains we often don't find more complexity, just an endless repetition of the same neural circuits over and over. This might add detail to remembered images or sounds, but not add any degree of complexity. To use a computer analogy, bigger brains might in many cases be bigger hard drives, not necessarily better processors." Chittka说"在大的脑里面通常不会更复杂，只是相同的连结一直重复。这也许可以增加记 忆的细节，但不能提供更复杂的运算。用电脑来类比的话，大的脑只提供大的硬碟空间， 而非更好得处理器" This must mean that much 'advanced' thinking can actually be done with very limited neuron numbers. Computer modelling shows that even consciousness can be generated with very small neural circuits, which could in theory easily fit into an insect brain. 这里说的是更先进的想法也许只需要少数的神经元就可以了。电脑模型显示，亦是可以在 非常小的神经电路里产生，而理论上也可以适合昆虫的脑。 In fact, the models suggest that counting could be achieved with only a few hundred nerve cells and only a few thousand could be enough to generate consciousness. Engineers hope that this kind of research will lead to smarter computing with the ability to recognise human facial expressions and emotions. 这个model建议上百个神经细胞就可以做运算、上千个可以产生意识。工程师希望这些研 究可以发展出更聪明的计算能力，如认脸与情绪。 -- 原始网址： http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091117124009.htm --

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