Research results will be announced that 'warming due to climate change is related to the reduction of the human brain'
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Climate Change Influences Brain Size in Humans | Brain Behavior and Evolution | Karger Publishers
https://karger.com/bbe/article/98/2/93/835670/Climate-Change-Influences-Brain-Size-in-Humans
New Paper Links Climate Change to Shrinking Brain Size in Humans : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/new-paper-links-climate-change-to-shrinking-brain-size-in-humans
New research links climate change to shrinking brain size in modern humans
https://www.psypost.org/2023/06/new-research-links-climate-change-to-shrinking-brain-size-in-modern-humans-165988
A research team led by cognitive scientist Jeff Morgan Steibel, who works at the California Museum of Natural History, has published the latest research results investigating ``the relationship between past climate change and changes in human brain size'' in evolutionary neurobiology. published in Brain Behavior and Evolution, a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering In the paper, Steibel said, ``Given recent trends in global warming, it is important to understand the impact of climate change on human brain size and, by extension, human behavior itself.'' .
The study analyzed changes in global temperature, humidity, and rainfall, as well as changes in human brain size over the past 50,000 years. Data on global climate use four climate-related data sets, including temperature data collected by the European Antarctic Ice Core Drilling Project (EPICA). Brain size was estimated using data on skull size from 298 human bones, taking into account geographic and gender factors, as well as body size estimates.
The analysis revealed that the average brain size decreased significantly as the Earth's climate warmed. The graph below shows the estimated size of the brain in a cool climate with gray points, the estimated size of the brain in a warm climate with red points, and the two on the left summarize the average size of the brain over a period of 100 years. So, the two on the right summarize the average size of the brain over a period of 10,000 years. Both periods of analysis show that brain size is smaller in warm weather than in cool weather.
The analysis shows a general pattern of changes in human brain size, and also reveals a correlation with climate change with rising and falling temperatures. It was also revealed that the average size of the human brain shrank by about 10.7% during the warming period of
The paper also states that ``changes in brain size seem to occur thousands of years after climate change, especially after the peak of the last ice age (about 17,000 years ago).''
The research team also said, ``Even a slight decrease in the brain size of modern humans could have a significant impact on our physiology in a way that is not fully understood.'' He suggested that the reduction in brain size might have some negative effects on human cognition.
In addition, it has been found that humidity and rainfall also affect brain growth. However, it seems that changes in temperature have a greater effect on changes in brain size.
In addition, Mr. Steibel told the scientific media PsyPost, ``It is very important to understand how the human brain has changed over time, but so far there has been little research on this subject. It did not exist.' ``It is clear that the brain has grown across species over the past millions of years, but little is known about other evolutionary trends.'' .
Furthermore, the research team said, 'The results of this analysis help predict climate change in human brain size, and that certain evolutionary changes to the brain may be a response to environmental stress. 'To determine whether the effects of climate change on human physiology are due specifically to temperature changes or to indirect effects from other components of environmental change, further research is needed. Research will be needed,” he said.
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