Human brain may have reached its peak of intelligence: research

The human brain has reached the physical limits of intelligence and is physically impossible for us to become any smarter, according to researchers.

They claim that in order to become any more intelligent the human brain would need vast amounts of extra energy and oxygen – and we simply cannot provide it

Cambridge University researchers have analysed the structure of the brain and worked out how much energy its cells use up.

"We have demonstrated that brains must consume energy to function and that these requirements are sufficiently demanding to limit our performance and determine design," said Simon Laughlin, professor of neurobiology.

"Far-reaching powers of deduction demand a lot of energy because for the brain to search out new relationships it must constantly correlate information from different sources.

"Such energy demands mean there is a limit to the information we can process," added Laughlin.

Other scientists have claimed that the brain's "wiring" or network of fibres linking different areas to one another cannot get any better.

They have found that the cleverest people have the best wiring, with messages carried very quickly between different parts of the brain.

But scientists claim that the wiring would need vast amounts of extra energy to become more efficient. As before, they say it is impossible for humans to provide this, therefore we cannot get cleverer.

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