ALBERT EINSTEIN

Albert Einstein's brain has often been a subject of research and speculation. Einstein's brain was removed within seven hours of his death. The brain has attracted attention because of Einstein's reputation for being one of the foremost geniuses of the 20th century, and apparent regularities or irregularities in the brain have been used to support various ideas about correlations in neuroanatomy with general or mathematical intelligence. Scientific studies have suggested that regions involved in speech and language are smaller, while regions involved with numerical and spatial processing are larger. Other studies have suggested an increased number of Gilael cells in Einstein's brain.

Einstein's brain was preserved after his death in 1955, but this fact was not revealed until 1978.

Einstein's brain was removed, weighed and preserved by Thomas Stoltz Harvey, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Einstein. He claimed he hoped that cytoarchitectonics would reveal useful information. Harvey injected 10% formalin through the internal carotid arteries and afterwards suspended the intact brain in 10% formalin. Harvey photographed the brain from many angles. He then dissected it into roughly 240 blocks (each about 10 cm³) and encased the segments in a plastic-like material called collodion. Harvey may also have removed Einstein's eyes, and given them to Henry Abrams. He was apparently fired from his position at Princeton Hospital shortly thereafter for refusing to relinquish the organs.