What Became of Einstein's Brain Following His Death?

In his final years, Einstein was aware of his declining health and declined life-saving surgeries. He explicitly stated, "I wish to be cremated to prevent my remains from becoming a site of pilgrimage" [source: Paterniti]. Einstein passed away on April 18, 1955, at 76, due to a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. His ashes were scattered in an undisclosed location, as per his wishes. However, Einstein's brain was treated differently.

During the autopsy at Princeton Hospital, pathologist Thomas Harvey removed Einstein's brain — the organ responsible for groundbreaking concepts like E=mc², the theory of relativity, insights into the speed of light, and the ideas that led to the development of the atomic bomb. Harvey held this extraordinary brain in his hands and decided to keep it for further study.

Depending on the perspective, Harvey's actions that day were either a monumental contribution to science or akin to grave robbing. Einstein had previously engaged in studies to explore the uniqueness of his brain, and some biographers assert that he desired his brain to be examined posthumously [source: Altman]. Conversely, others argue that Einstein intended his brain to be cremated, and controversy deepened when it was discovered that someone had taken Einstein's eyeballs as a keepsake [source: Paterniti].

In a sense, Einstein's wish was partially fulfilled. No one could venerate his brain as a relic because its location was known only to Harvey. After news broke about Harvey's removal of the brain, he obtained consent from one of Einstein's sons to study it, with the condition that findings would be published in respected journals. Harvey believed the secrets of Einstein's genius would be quickly uncovered. However, no significant studies emerged in the years following Einstein's death, and Harvey, a pathologist rather than a neuroscientist, vanished with the brain.

Marian Diamond and Albert Einstein's Brain

Legend has it that when Albert Einstein was born, his mother was utterly astonished by the size and shape of his head [source: Hayden]. However, upon his death, Einstein's brain was found to be of average size for a man his age. During the autopsy, Thomas Harvey weighed the brain, which came in at 2.7 pounds (1.22 kilograms) [source: Hotz]. Harvey photographed the brain, then divided it into roughly 240 sections, preserving them in celloidin, a standard method for brain preservation and research [source: Burrell].

Harvey later distributed tiny fragments of the brain to selected doctors and scientists worldwide whose research he admired. These chosen experts were expected to share their discoveries with Harvey, who planned to publish the findings, revealing the inner workings of a genius's mind.

Harvey and the world had to wait a long time. Einstein's brain was of average size, with a typical number of standard-sized brain cells. Despite this, Harvey remained convinced that something extraordinary would be discovered. Whenever reporters found him, he claimed to be just a year away from publishing groundbreaking results. At one point, Harvey was found living in Kansas, with the brain stored in a jar inside an old cider box behind a beer cooler.

Finally, in 1985, Harvey had news to share. Dr. Marian Diamond from the University of California at Berkeley, who was studying brain plasticity in rats, discovered that rats in enriched environments had more developed brains. Specifically, these rats had a higher ratio of glial cells to neurons. Diamond sought to determine if Einstein's brain exhibited similar characteristics.

Glial cells support and nourish the more active neurons, which are responsible for communication within the brain. In a way, glial cells act as a maintenance crew for neurons. As neurons communicate, they generate waste in the form of potassium ions. These ions accumulate outside the neurons, but if the buildup becomes too great, communication halts due to lack of space. Glial cells remove these potassium ions, enabling neurons to continue firing. They also absorb other neurotransmitters that could otherwise interfere with neuronal communication [source: Fields].

Upon receiving her brain samples, Diamond compared them to a group of 11 other brains. She found that Einstein had a higher glia-to-neuron ratio, suggesting that the increased number of glial cells might be due to the intense metabolic demands placed on his neurons by his extraordinary thinking [source: Burrell]. Essentially, Einstein's remarkable thoughts required exceptional "housekeeping" to manage the resulting neural activity.

However, other scientists criticized Diamond's findings. One issue was that glial cells continue to divide throughout a person's life. Since Einstein died at 76, and Diamond's control group had an average age of 64, it was plausible that Einstein naturally had more glial cells than the younger individuals [source: Herskovits].

Furthermore, Diamond's control group consisted of brains from VA hospital patients. While she noted they died of non-neurological causes, little else was known about them, such as their IQ scores. This raised questions about whether Einstein's brain was being compared to those of less intellectually gifted individuals.

Another critique came from a scientist who pointed out that Diamond only provided ratios for one specific measurement, despite identifying 28 possible ways to analyze these cells. Diamond conceded that she omitted data that didn't support her hypothesis. The scientist argued that measuring numerous variables increases the likelihood of finding something to support any claim [source: Burrell].

Would Einstein's brain ever reveal its mysteries?

Unsolved Mystery: What Sandra Witelson Discovered

Dr. Diamond's research initially garnered significant media attention but was later revealed to have serious methodological flaws. In 1996, Britt Anderson, a researcher at the University of Alabama, published a more understated study on Einstein's brain.

Anderson found that the frontal cortex of Einstein's brain was unusually thin but contained a higher density of neurons [source: Hotz]. Anderson informed Thomas Harvey that a researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, was investigating whether a densely packed cerebral cortex could explain differences between men's and women's brains. While men's brains are generally larger, women's brains have more tightly packed neurons, potentially enabling faster communication.

Harvey contacted the researcher with a brief fax: "Would you collaborate with me to study Albert Einstein's brain?" [source: Hotz]. Dr. Sandra Witelson, the McMaster researcher, agreed to the proposal.

Witelson's advantage over other researchers was her extensive collection of brains, each with documented IQs, health records, and psychiatric histories. Unlike Diamond's study, there was no ambiguity about the control group — the 35 male brains had an average IQ of 116, slightly above average (Witelson also used 56 female brains for comparison). For years, she had collaborated with medical professionals to gather brains for her research, enabling her to conduct the most comprehensive study of its kind.

Harvey traveled to Canada with Einstein's brain, and Witelson was granted access to nearly 20% of it — more than any previous researcher [source: Altman]. She examined sections of the temporal and parietal lobes and studied the photographs Harvey had taken of the brain after Einstein's death. She observed that Einstein's Sylvian fissure was mostly absent, which meant his parietal lobe was 15% wider than average, as this fissure typically divides the lobe into two parts [source: Witelson et al.].

The parietal lobe is crucial for skills like mathematics, spatial reasoning, and 3D visualization. This aligned with Einstein's description of his thought process: "Words do not seem to play any roles," he said. "[There are] more or less clear images" [source: Wilson]. Einstein, who conceptualized relativity by imagining traveling on a beam of light through space, visualized his ideas before translating them into words [source: Lemonick].

The Mystery of Einstein's Brain Lives On

Witelson suggests that the absence of a Sylvian fissure might have allowed brain cells to pack more closely together, facilitating faster communication. This unique brain structure could also explain Einstein's delayed speech development, raising intriguing questions about self-awareness. If Einstein had known his brain was different or even flawed, would he have still ventured into academia?

Currently, scientists lack sufficient understanding of brain function to confirm Witelson's hypothesis about Einstein's brain. While Einstein's brain appears ordinary, even slightly damaged, there's no obvious feature signaling extraordinary genius. Without another brain of comparable genius to study, Einstein's brain may remain incomparable to average ones.

Harvey remained steadfast in his belief that Einstein's brain held unique secrets. Late in life, after transporting the brain across the country, he returned it to the University Medical Center of Princeton, entrusting it to his successor. Writer Michael Paterniti, who joined Harvey on a cross-country journey with the brain, speculated in his book "Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America with Einstein's Brain" that Harvey chose someone who mirrored his own persona, a notion the successor also acknowledged.

"Now he's free, and I'm bound," the successor told Paterniti about Harvey's decision [source: Paterniti]. If Einstein's brain ever unveils its mysteries, Harvey won't witness it; he passed away in 2007 at 94. Yet, Einstein and the enigma of his brain continue to captivate.