Dolphin Brain vs. Human Brain: What's the Difference?

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Humans and dolphins are often compared because dolphins have been found to have high IQs. Dolphins are mammals that can solve problems and engage in highly social behaviors. This has led many, including scientists, to wonder: What's the difference between dolphin brains and human brains?

These brains are very different in some ways, but similar in others. We'll show you how our brains differ from those of dolphins, and how these differences affect each species. For the sake of comparison, we will use the brains of bottlenose dolphins compared with the brains of ordinary people. This particular species has been most thoroughly studied, so data on them is more widely available.

Comparing dolphin brains to human brains

Main Differences Between Dolphin Brain and Human Brain

The biggest difference between the human brain and the dolphin brain is their overall size, hippocampus and cerebral cortex. A dolphin's brain is larger than a human's, weighing 1,600 grams compared to a human's 1,300 grams.

The human brain has a highly developed prefrontal cortex, the largest of any primate, but dolphins have a small and underdeveloped prefrontal cortex. Finally, the hippocampal region of the brain is larger in humans compared to dolphins.

Here are three of the biggest differences between human and dolphin brains that could help explain the difference in intelligence between the two species.

Dolphin Brain vs. Human Brain: Size

Dolphins have larger brains than humans. The average dolphin brain weighs about 1,600 grams, while the average human brain weighs about 1,300 grams.

However, when we consider the size of the human brain versus that of a dolphin, it is not enough to say that a bigger brain means a smarter creature. In fact, humans have larger brains than dolphins relative to their size. Despite having the largest brain-to-weight ratio, dolphins lag behind humans in terms of intelligence.

The Dolphin Brain Versus the Human Brain: Prefrontal Cortical Development

While the human brain has a highly developed prefrontal cortex (PFC), the largest of any primate, the dolphin's PFC is limited in size. The PFC is key to planning behavior, making decisions, and socializing with others.

In humans, the PFC is responsible for executive functions that allow us to work toward specific goals and identify potential outcomes. The lack of PFC in dolphins may help explain why they are not as intelligent as humans in appearance.

Dolphin Brain vs Human Brain: The Hippocampus

The hippocampus of the human brain is much more developed than that of the dolphin brain. The hippocampus is a smaller area of the human brain shaped like a seahorse. The hippocampus is responsible for memory, learning, motivation, emotion and other elements.

In the human brain, the hippocampus is most commonly identified as the way memory is affected. Having a more developed hippocampus could give humans better long-term memory than dolphins. This may explain another reason why humans are able to perform more complex cognitive tasks than dolphins. We can learn and retain information and recall it later.

Dolphin Brain vs. Human Brain: The Cerebral Cortex

Compared with the human brain, the dolphin brain has a higher degree of cerebral cortex encephalization. Dolphins have 40% more cerebral cortex than humans. In particular, the cerebral cortex of dolphin brains has more folds and ridges (gyri and sulci) than humans.

However, humans still have a highly developed cerebral cortex. However, not only are our brains smaller in mass, but they also have a smaller total surface area than dolphin brains. So we haven't really explored the depth of their intelligence.

The cerebral cortex controls higher-level thinking, motor function, and other forms of information processing.

Dolphin Brain vs. Human Brain: The Encephalization Quotient

The encephalization quotient of the human brain is higher than that of the dolphin brain. The encephalization quotient is the ratio between the actual and predicted brain mass of an animal based on animal size.

For humans, the encephalization quotient is higher than any other animal, at 6.56. The Dolphins aren't far behind on the 4.0 EQ.

However, some research suggests that emotional intelligence may not be the best way to measure cognitive ability in nonhuman primates, meaning that measure may not be as important as earlier research suggested. That's not to say it's not an important or insightful measure.

Why are dolphins less intelligent than humans?

We have already mentioned that dolphins have larger brains than humans, and they also have a higher degree of encephalization in the cerebral cortex. So why are dolphins less intelligent than humans? There are many reasons for this difference in intelligence.

For one thing, dolphins have a relatively small prefrontal cortex and even a small hippocampus. This means that dolphin brains are limited in some pretty important ways. They don't have the higher order thinking, memory, ability to set goals, and many other brain processes that humans do.

All in all, dolphins have incredible brains, and we're only just beginning to understand that. Most of their brain processes remain a mystery to humans. Despite the many differences between the human and dolphin brains, the truth is that they are quite possibly the second-smartest creatures on Earth.

While this is very useful information for humans to understand how the brain and cognition work, it raises some ethical questions about keeping these animals in pens so they can be exhibited. Plus, it raises further questions about what it would mean to kill an organism with this level of cognition. These controversies are important now and require more thought in the future.

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