Requested by @tsukixnoxmeAlakazam, the classic first generation psychic pokémon, is known for

Requested by @tsukixnoxmeAlakazam, the classic first generation psychic pokémon, is known for being very, very smart. The pokédex entry in various games tell us that this is attributed to the large size of Alakam’s brain, which continuously grows larger over the course of its life.Contrary to popular belief, there is little evidence that shows that having a larger brain makes an animal more intelligent. If that were true, whales would be the smartest animals on Earth, because they have the largest brains. Birds like ravens or crows have small brains, so they should be less intelligent by that logic, and yet, they are regarded as some of the more clever creatures on our planet. Here is a graph of brain size versus body size for several animals:Unsurprisingly, larger animals have larger brains. Even corrected for body weight though, humans, which are typically regarded as the most intelligent creatures on Earth, do not have the largest brain size. If not brain size, then what about the brain determines an animal’s intelligence?According to this study, it’s the type of brain cells that matters, not just the size. There are hundreds of different types of brain cells, called neurons, that have different roles in the brain. Cortical neurons, for example, are associated with memory, awareness, and consciousness. Sensory neurons translate information from your sensory organs, like your eyes and ears, to the brain. Motor neurons carry signals from your brain to your muscles, allowing you to move. Mirror neurons fire up when an animal observes a behavior in another creature, and then mimics it, and are linked with both empathy and language processing in humans.Out of all of those, cortical neurons have the most correlation with intelligence in animals. Humans have a very high number of cortical neurons compared to other animals, which scientists think is responsible for our higher intelligence. On average, humans have abut 15 billion cortical neurons in their brain, compared to the 5.6 billion cortical cells in an elephants brain: which is impressive, because an elephant’s brain is much larger by mass. The brain of a cat (25 grams) is about 1/3 the size of the brain of a dog (74 grams), but cats have about twice the number of cortical cells in their brains!So with that, Alakazam not only has a large, ever-growing brain, but specifically produces more and more cortical neurons over the course of its life, resulting in more memory, higher perception, and, of course, presumably it’s psychic powers. That explains why it is more intelligent than a Wailord!The process of growing new brain cells is called neurogenesis. Brain cells do not divide to reproduce through mitosis. Rather, they are created inside of stem cells, and live for as long as the body does. While most brain cells are created this way during developmental stages of an animal’s life - as an embryo, egg, or child - neurogenesis does continue through the adult stages of many species, humans included. Our brains, like Alakazam’s, are constantly growing bigger!Alakazam’s brain contains a large number of cortical neurons, the type of brain cell associated with memory, awareness, and intelligence in animals. Although Alakazam’s brain is smaller in mass than a Wailord’s brain, it has more cortical neurons. -- source link

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