Bigger brain may not make you smarter

There is an "ideal" brain circuit size suited to carrying out particular tasks, a study has found.

Researchers found increasing the size of neural circuits in the brain can boost learning performance. The study looked at how neural circuits can use additional connectivity to achieve faster and more precise learning.

It showed that adding apparently "redundant" neurons – cells that make brain work – and synaptic connections, that enable information to flow from one neuron to another, to a network is a double-edged sword.

The findings of the research suggest a new potential reason why excessive numbers of noisy connections can lead to learning disorders that are associated with brain hyperconnectivity, including some developmental forms of autism.