If you had a big head growing up and got alotta flack for it — now is your shot at redemption.
According to recent research, studies have found that babies born with large heads are more intelligent — which equates to having a higher chance of becoming educated and living a successful life.
Hey, your mom was right! Your brain is holding a ton of brains! Jokes on you Steve from the fourth period. My. Brain. Makes. Me. Money.
The research was conducted by UK Biobank.
If you aren’t sure what a biobank is, it is a study which investigates the relation of genetic predisposition and environmental exposure to developing diseases.
Their research suggested higher intelligence actually correlates with a large head circumference and brain volume.
Who would have thunk it?
UK Biobank monitors half a million UK residents to determine the link between their genes, their physical as well as mental health — along with the direction their life will take. UK, Germany and the US researches were led by the University of Edinburgh for this study, analyzing UK Biobank data from 100,000 Brits between the ages of 37 and 73. It was also noted over half a million samples were used from previous studies.
Both verbal and numerical reasoning skills, reaction time (RT), memory and educational attainment were observed and tested by researchers. The results in the study were published in a paper which was published by in the Nature journal, Molecular Psychiatry, which concluded the following:
“Highly significant associations were observed between the cognitive test scores in the UK Biobank sample and many polygenic profile scores, including […]intracranial volume, infant head circumference and childhood cognitive ability.”
And according to the Independent, the average size head for a newborn baby is 36 cm for boys, and 35 cm for girls. But babies with larger than average noggins are more likely to enter into higher education.
Whoa, that is a BIG deal. The idea that the size of your brain can predict if you go or don’t go to college? I wonder if there are other physical attributes that predict our futures….
The UK Biobank has additionally claimed:
“Over many years this will build into a powerful resource to help scientists discover why some people develop particular diseases and others do not.”
Professor Ian Deary, Director of the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology (CCACE) at Edinburgh University, told Neuroscience News:
“In addition to there being shared genetic influences between cognitive skills and some physical and mental health states, the study also found that cognitive skills share genetic influences with brain size, body shape and educational attainments.”
While Dr. Sarah Harris, researcher, added:
“The research highlights the importance of investigating biological pathways that influence both cognitive function and health-related traits.”
Now you can show everyone who dares makes fun of your head this article as proof that having your big head sets you apart from the crowd.
But don’t get too big of a head, because that can be a bad thing too…
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