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Evolution

Big brains explained

Nature volume 480, pages 43–44 (2011)Cite this article

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The expensive-tissue hypothesis proposes that brain enlargement during human evolution was offset by a reduced gut size. The finding that the typical trade-off in mammals is between brain size and fat reserves suggests otherwise. See Letter p.91

Brain enlargement is one of the more conspicuous aspects of human evolutionary history. Although the benefits of a large brain seem obvious, the correlated survival and metabolic costs are immense and define much about the human condition. In Homo sapiens, giving birth to big-brained babies is risky. Furthermore, the energy consumed by the brain forms roughly 65% of a baby's total consumption and no less than 20–25% of an adult's, even though brain tissue accounts for only 2% of adult body mass.

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Figure 1: Human brain expansion.

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  1. Richard Potts is in the Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20560, USA.,

    Richard Potts

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  1. Richard Potts
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Correspondence to Richard Potts.

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Potts, R. Big brains explained. Nature 480, 43–44 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/480043a

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