?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Neuron+Soma+Size+in+the+Left+and+Right+Hippocampus+of+a+Genius&rft.creator=Zaidel%2C+Dahlia&rft.subject=Behavioral+Neuroscience&rft.subject=Neuroanatomy&rft.subject=Neurology&rft.description=++NEURON+SOMA+SIZE+IN+THE+LEFT+AND+RIGHT+HIPPOCAMPUS+OF+A+GENIUS%0A++D.W.+Zaidel*%0A%0A++Dept+Psychology%2C+UCLA%2C+Los+Angeles%2C+CA%2C+USA%0A%0A++Underlying+brain+features+of+a+genius+are+not+understood.+It+is+not%0A++known+if+there+is+a+smooth+continuum+between+a+genius+and+the+thousands%0A++of+the+brightest+minds+alive+today.+The+few+postmortem+studies+of+brains%0A++of+remarkable+mathematicians+or+physicists+typically+emphasized+the%0A++neocortex.+In+the+present+study%2C+the+hippocampus+of+Albert+Einstein+(AE)%0A++was+investigated+postmortem.+The+importance+of+the+hippocampus+is%0A++established+for+long-term%2C+explicit%2C+implicit%2C+and+episodic+memory%2C+and%0A++establishment+of+semantic+associations.+A+single+microscope+slide%0A++(Nissl-stained+stained+in+Harvey%5BImage%5Ds+lab+not+long+after+AE%5BImage%5Ds%0A++death+at+age+76+years)+was+available+for+the+left+and+right+sides.+Soma%0A++size+of+pyramidal+neurons+in+coronal+sections+of+AE%5BImage%5Ds+left+and%0A++right+hippocampi+were+photographed%2C+then+digitized+and+systematically%0A++measured+on+a+computer+in+hippocampal+subfields+CA1%2C+CA2%2C+CA3%2C+CA4%2C+and%0A++subiculum.+An+atypical+left-right+asymmetry+emerged+in+AE%2C+with+soma%0A++size+being+consistently+and+significantly+larger+in+the+left+than+in+the%0A++right+side+in+all+homologous+subfields+except+for+CA2%2C+whereas+in+10%0A++ordinary+adults%2C+aged+22+to+84+years%2C+there+was+minimal+and+inconsistent%0A++soma+size+asymmetry+in+direction+(left+vs+right)+or+extent.+However%2C+the%0A++soma+size+variability+revealed+similarities+in+both+AE+and+the+ordinary%0A++adults%2C+particularly+in+hippocampal+subfields+CA1+and+CA2%2C+bilaterally.%0A++The+direction+of+the+cell+size+asymmetry+in+AE%5BImage%5Ds+hippocampi+could%0A++simply+reflect+age-related+changes+in+combination+with+unusual+neuronal%0A++connectivity+of+prenatal+or+experiential+origin.+This+is+difficult+to%0A++ascertain%2C+and+the+relationship+between+the+hippocampal+status+at+the%0A++time+of+his+death+and+its+role+in+his+genius+in+his+most+creative+years%0A++is+a+matter+for+debate.&rft.date=2001&rft.type=Conference+Poster&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fplain&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1927%2F1%2FNEURON_SOMA_SIZE_IN_THE.TEXT&rft.identifier=++Zaidel%2C+Dahlia++(2001)+Neuron+Soma+Size+in+the+Left+and+Right+Hippocampus+of+a+Genius.++%5BConference+Poster%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1927%2F