Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Biological Influences on Intelligence

Biological Influences on Intelligence

Intelligence is often thought to be linked to brain size, but the relationship is more complex than that. While brain size does correlate modestly with some abilities, like verbal skills, the connection is weaker for others, such as spatial reasoning. Other factors, like brain structure, also play crucial roles. For instance, despite Einstein's smaller-than-average brain, his parietal cortex, which is involved in spatial reasoning, was 15% wider, suggesting that neural density might matter...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Correction: 'The evolutionary puzzle of cognition: challenges and insights from individual-based studies' (2024), by Sol et al.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026

Same author

Coevolution of phenological traits shapes plant-pollinator coexistence.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026

Same author

Plant-Pollinator Interaction Rewiring Boosts Year-to-Year Community Persistence.

Ecology letters·2026

Same author

Critical habitat thresholds for effective pollinator conservation in agricultural landscapes.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2025

Same author

The evolutionary puzzle of cognition: challenges and insights from individual-based studies.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2025

Same author

Adaptations to marine environments and the evolution of slow-paced life histories in endotherms.

Nature communications·2025

Same journal

Desert lizards modulate nutritional responses to match seasonal biological needs.

Royal Society open science·2026

Same journal

Multi-generational fidelity, ecological and social determinants of roosting in a cooperatively breeding bird (<i>Argya squamiceps</i>).

Royal Society open science·2025

Same journal

Multifaceted polarization and information reliability in climate change discussions on social media platforms.

Royal Society open science·2025

Same journal

Comparing the kinematics related to inflicted head injury between violent shaking of a 6-week-old and a 1-year-old infant surrogate.

Royal Society open science·2025

Same journal

Partner choice increases observed reciprocity-based cooperation but decreases unobserved stake-based cooperation.

Royal Society open science·2025

Same journal

Importation models for travel-related SARS-CoV-2 cases reported in Newfoundland and Labrador during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Royal Society open science·2025

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 5, 2025

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees Apis mellifera L.

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees Apis mellifera L.

Published on: December 12, 2012

Brain size predicts learning abilities in bees.

Miguel Á Collado^1,2, Cristina M Montaner¹, Francisco P Molina^1,2

¹Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avd. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain.

Royal Society Open Science

|May 21, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Larger bee brains correlate with enhanced learning abilities. This study reveals brain size is functionally significant in insects, impacting their capacity to associate colors with rewards.

Keywords:

bees brain brain size cognition learning

More Related Videos

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Published on: July 21, 2014

A Proboscis Extension Response Protocol for Investigating Behavioral Plasticity in Insects: Application to Basic, Biomedical, and Agricultural Research

A Proboscis Extension Response Protocol for Investigating Behavioral Plasticity in Insects: Application to Basic, Biomedical, and Agricultural Research

Published on: September 8, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 5, 2025

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees Apis mellifera L.

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees Apis mellifera L.

Published on: December 12, 2012

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Published on: July 21, 2014

A Proboscis Extension Response Protocol for Investigating Behavioral Plasticity in Insects: Application to Basic, Biomedical, and Agricultural Research

A Proboscis Extension Response Protocol for Investigating Behavioral Plasticity in Insects: Application to Basic, Biomedical, and Agricultural Research

Published on: September 8, 2014

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Evolutionary Biology
Animal Behavior

Background:

The relationship between brain size and cognitive performance is well-established in vertebrates.
Evidence for this link in invertebrates, particularly insects, is less understood despite significant variation in insect brain size.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether larger brain size in bee species corresponds to superior learning abilities.
To explore the functional significance of brain size variation in insect cognition.

Main Methods:

Field-collected bee species were tested on their ability to associate a visual cue (colored strip) with a reward (sucrose).
Learning performance was quantified and correlated with both absolute and relative brain size (brain size relative to body size).

Main Results:

Most bee species demonstrated the ability to learn the color-reward association, but performance varied significantly among species.
Species with larger brains, both absolutely and relative to body mass, showed enhanced learning performance.

Conclusions:

Bee brain size is a significant factor influencing learning capacity.
This finding supports the broader concept of brain size influencing cognitive abilities across diverse animal groups and highlights the importance of studying insect neurobiology.