Big baby have bigger brain but they aren't smarter

BIG babies develop bigger brains. But their bigger brains don't make them smarter as they grow into children and teens.

BIG babies develop bigger brains.

But their bigger brains don't make them smarter as they grow into children and teenagers.

Norwegian researchers investigating the well known links bewteen foetal development and mental health and ability later in life wanted to discover any links between birth weight and brain development.

They investigated 628 healthy US children and adolescents to compare individuals birth weight with brain structure, area, and volume.

Those babies who weighed the most at birth developed bigger brains, no matter their genetic and social backgrounds, or whether they were from a rich or poor family.

"Children who weighed more as babies had greater brain surface area in multiple regions and greater total brain volume than healthy babies who weighed less,'' the research, led by Kristine B. Walhovda from the University of Oslo's Department of Psychology, found.

"Some of the brain regions that appeared to be most highly correlated to birth weight are part of a network responsible for resolving cognitive conflicts.''

However they "did not find a connection between birth weight and cognitive function'' _ how the brain worked.