brain weight

the weight of a brain, which is about 1,450 g for a young adult human. Brain weights for elephants and whales may exceed 7,000 g and 9,000 g, respectively. Human brain sizes usually increase until around the age of 20, then gradually diminish. Brain weight correlates significantly (on average, r = 0.4) with intelligence. See also brain growth.

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Psychology term of the day

February 17th 2025

sexually dimorphic nucleus

a nucleus of the central nervous system that differs in size between males and females. In humans, for example, a nucleus in the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus that synthesizes gonadotropin-releasing hormone tends to be larger and more active in males than in females because gonadotropin release is continuous (it is cyclical in females). In songbirds whose males sing more than females, several brain nuclei associated with both song learning and song production are larger in males than in females.