Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Russian scientists are certainly among those who contributed actively to the search for the neuroanatomical
basis of exceptional mental capacity and talent. Research into brain anatomy was one of the topics of special
interest in various Russian universities. A number of independent reports on the study of famous Russian brains
appeared both in Russia and abroad. Collecting and mapping brains of elite Russians in a structured manner
began in Moscow in 1924 with the brain of V. I. Lenin. In 1928, the Moscow Brain Research Institute was founded,
the collection of which includes the brains of several prominent Russian neuroscientists, including V. M.
Bekhterev, G. I. Rossolimo, L. S.Vygotsky and I. P. Pavlov. The fact that the brain of two of the most outstanding
scholars of Russian neurology and psychiatry, A.Ya. Kozhevnikov (1836^1902) and S. S. Korsakov (1854^1900), have
been studied is largely unknown. A report of the results of this study was published by A. A. Kaputsin in 1925
providing a detailed neuroanatomical assessment of the brains. A considerable weight, a predominance of the
left hemisphere and a particularly complex convolution of the frontal and parietal lobes of both brains were
reported, the assumption being that these brain parameters can serve as an indicator of mental capacity. The
names Kozhevnikov and Korsakov are among those most cherished by Russian neuroscientists; they are also
familiar to Western colleagues. The (re)discovery of the records of the brain autopsies is meaningful, maybe
not so much from a neuroanatomical point of view as from a historical perspective.
Introduction
it is thought that collecting and mapping the brains of
‘Periculosum est credere et non credere’ famous Russians began in Moscow in 1924, starting with
– it is dangerous to believe as well as to disbelieve.’ V. I. Lenin’s brain and the foundation in 1928 of the
Blaise Pascal Moscow Brain Research Institute (Spivak, 2001; Richter,
2007). In fact, it began much earlier in the universities.
The search for the biological roots of extraordinary capacity Collections in medical faculties included (among those of
has been going on for many centuries. From the 18th other celebrities) the brains of medical professors, many of
through the late 20th century, there was particular interest whom had bequeathed this organ for scientific purposes.
in the brain and its remarkable convolutions. Generations This was a tradition not unknown in other European
of prominent scientists, from Flechsig and Retzius to countries and in the 19th century it was quite a respectable
Vogt and Economo, were advocates of a structural– thing to do. Many eminent men in Europe willingly
morphological approach to brain research (Hagner, 2004). acceded to this service to science by giving permission for
Russian scientists are certainly among those who contrib- their brains to be removed, weighed and studied
uted actively to the search for the neuroanatomical basis (Gere, 2003; Taylor, 1996). The systemic investigation of
of exceptional mental capacity and talent. Conventionally, brains of geniuses started in Europe after 1830. The main
ß The Author (2008). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
584 Brain (2008), 131, 583^590 A. A. Vein and M. L. C. Maat-Schieman
Pantheon of brains
In 1927, Bekhterev came up with a plan to organize ‘The
Pantheon of Brains’ in Leningrad in order to collect elite
brains (Vol’fson, 1928; Richter, 2007). It was a severe irony of
fate that precisely when the question about creating the
Pantheon had been positively solved, the very initiator of this
creation, Bekhterev, suddenly passed away. The circum-
Fig. 6 Brain of S. S. Korsakov. Photo from Clin Arch Genius Talent stances are still questionable. On December 17, 1927, the
(of Europathol) 1926; 2: 107^14. First All-Union Congress of Neuropathologists and
Psychiatrists was held in Moscow. Bekhterev, along with L.
S. Minor and G. I. Rossolimo, was elected as honourable
alcoholism on the nervous system and described alcoholic chairmen of the congress. On December 23rd, the last day of
polyneuritis with distinctive mental symptoms (‘cerebro- the congress, Bekhterev gave a presentation during the
pathia psychica tokaemica’), later called ‘Korsakov’s syn- afternoon session. In the evening, symptoms of a gastro-
drome’. He was the first to produce a clear description of intestinal disorder started and 24 hs later, Bekhterev died of
paranoia. Korsakov was among the leaders of more humane (as officially stated) acute heart failure. Without any further
patient management by applying no-restraint principles. post-mortem pathoanatomical investigation, his brain was
Until his premature death, he was the head of the Moscow removed, in accordance with his will, and his body was
University Clinic of Psychiatry, and is considered to be the cremated the next day (Lerner et al., 2005). However, the
founder of the Moscow psychiatric school (Ovsyannikov idea did not fade away. In 1928, the neuroanatomical
and Ovsyannikov, 2007). laboratory of Vogt and his Russian colleagues were
After two heart attacks at the age of 44, Korsakov reorganized into the Moscow Brain Research Institute
consulted a specialist in Vienna in 1898. Hypertrophy of (Fig. 7), where the structured collecting and mapping of
heart associated with obesity and myocarditis was estab- the brains of famous Russians started. Bekhterev did not see
lished. Korsakov died from heart failure at the age of 46 his plan come to fruition, but his own brain enriched the
(Banshchikov, 1967). collection of the Moscow Institute (the weight of his brain
was 1720 g) (Spivak, 2001). The collection acquired the
Brain of Korsakov brains of Soviet politicians, famous writers, poets, musicians,
On dissection, Korsakov’s brain (Fig. 6) weighed 1603 g. At a etc. It is not surprising that these included the brains
second measurement on January 26, 1924, the weight was of prominent Russian neuroscientists, such as neurologist,
1355 g. The angulus Rolandicus of the right hemisphere G. I. Rossolimo (1860–1928)—1543 g; physiologist,
equalled 80 and that of the left 85 . On all measurements, a I. P. Pavlov (1849–1936)—1517 g; neurologist, M. B. Kroll
noticeable superiority of the left hemisphere was observed. In (1879–1939)—1520 g; psychiatrist, P. B. Gannushkin
the region of the left frontal lobe, 25 small sulci were (1875–1933)—1495 g; psychologist, L. S. Vygotsky
discernible in addition to the four main gyri. The fissura (1896–1934) (Bogolepova, 1993). During the Soviet period,
centralis anterior of the right frontal lobe was interrupted by the work of the Moscow Brain Research Institute continued
more than 30 small fissures. The surface of the parietal lobes behind closed doors. The collection was still expanding
showed a similar complexity and the same peculiarities of the as recently as 1989, when it acquired the brain of
configuration of the sulci and gyri. The distance from the A. D. Sakharov [A. D. Sakharov (1921–89) was an eminent
frontal pole to the occipital pole along the fissura pallii was Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist.
27 cm and the distance from the frontal pole to the sulcus He was an advocate of civil liberties and reforms in the
Rolandicus along the same line equalled 15 cm. Accordingly, Soviet Union. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in
the length of the frontal lobe represented 55.5% of that of the 1975]—1440 g (Spivak, 2001).
right hemisphere. For the left hemisphere, the same distances
were 28 and 16 cm, respectively. Thus, the length of the left
frontal lobe amounted to 57.1% of that of the left hemisphere. Discussion
The length of the left frontal lobe exceeded that of the right Since the 19th century, scientists have attempted to
one by 1.6%. establish why particular brains are especially productive.
588 Brain (2008), 131, 583^590 A. A. Vein and M. L. C. Maat-Schieman
Fig. 7 Museum of the Moscow Brain Research Institute (photo A. A. Vein, 2007).
The results were unsatisfactory, none of the studies weight and gross anatomy of the brain published in Russia
revealing a strong relationship between brain size or and abroad. The author of the paper praised the
structure and function (Bentivoglio, 1998). Rather than achievements and the intellectual abilities of both scholars
being abandoned, however, this approach achieved high and subsequently made the assumption that the size and
popularity in Russia, as well as in Europe and the USA. complexity of their brain anatomy could serve as an
The names of Kozhevnikov and Korsakov are among indicator of their mental capacity. These data were to a
those most cherished by Russian neuroscientists. certain extent compatible with other reports on the brains
Kozhevnikov was the founder of the main journal of of prominent scientists. The celebrated Swedish anatomist,
neurology and psychiatry in Russia—Zhurnal Nevropatologii G. M. Retzius (1842–1919), described unusual ‘secondary’
i Psikhiatrii (1900). He named the new journal after his gyri in the frontal cortex and exceptional growth near
former student Korsakov, who died at a young age that the posterior part of the Sylvian fissure of the brains
same year. These two scholars are considered to be the of outstanding scientists, including Kovalevskaya (Retzius,
‘fathers of Russian neurology and psychiatry’. The (re)dis- 1900; Finger, 1994). The American anatomist, E. A. Spitzka
covery of the records of the autopsies of their brains is, (1876–1922), who published the description of the brains of
therefore, meaningful, perhaps not so much from a 137 famous individuals, showed that eminent people from
neuroanatomical point of view as from a historical ‘the exact sciences’ had the heaviest brains (Spitzka, 1905).
perspective. The complex convolution of the frontal and parietal lobes
Although there are no records to this effect, it is quite of the left hemisphere was also described in scientists such
plausible that it was the wish of Kozhevnikov and Korsakov as Kant (1694–1778), Gauss (1777–1855), Helmholtz
to donate their brains to scientific study. When the detailed (1821–94), Mendeleev (1834–1907), Haeckel (1834–1919),
description of the gross anatomy of the brain of these Lombroso (1835–1909), Gyldén (1841–96), Giacomini
outstanding scientists was published, similar works (1841–98) and von Monakow (1853–1930) (Bekhterev and
appeared in Russia, which had the same descriptive Weinberg, 1909; Gindze, 1925a, b; Finger, 1994; Hagner,
approach. This method was broadly used in Russia, 2004). The data, however, lacked uniformity. As long ago as
Europe and the USA (Bekhterev and Weinberg, 1908, 1887, Zernov gave a visionary warning to avoid prejudice
Smirnov 1915a, b; Gindze, 1925a, b; Hagner, 2004). when examining the brains of the famous, an opinion close
Kapustin, along with other Russian neurologists, was to the conclusions reached by Rudolf Wagner in his
presumably using two sources: Zernov’s (1877) classifica- pioneering work (Zernov 1887, Finger, 1994). In 1925,
tion of brain anatomy and ‘The anatomy of the central another professor at Moscow University, Gindze, pointed
nervous organs in health and in disease’ by H. Obersteiner, out that both in Russia and abroad, descriptions and
translated into Russian in 1888 and widely consulted categorizations of the brains of gifted individuals were
(Obersteiner, 1888). In Russia, Basle Nomina Anatomica highly inconsistent (Gindze, 1925a). Nevertheless, the
remained standard terminology until 1955 (Sapin, 1986). interest in this problem was not abandoned completely.
Most cerebral structures are easily recognizable, though Thus, there was a great deal of scientific and public interest
there are few terms, e.g. ‘angulus Rolandicus’, which are in the anatomical structure of Albert Einstein’s brain. The
difficult to trace nowadays. In the case of the brains of posterior parts of the parietal lobes of Einstein’s brain were
Kozhevnikov and Korsakov, their considerable weight, extensively developed, but none of the other neuroanato-
predominance of the left hemisphere and particularly mical features of his brain proved to be exceptional
complex convolutions of the frontal and parietal lobes (Diamond et al., 1985; Witelson et al., 1999; Hagner,
were reported. The conclusion that these features were 2004). At the end of the 20th century, there was still
unusual was based on comparisons with other studies of considerable interest in the macroanatomical investigation
Famous Russian brains Brain (2008), 131, 583^590 589
Jung RE and Haier RJ. The parieto-frontal integration theory (P-FIT) of M. E. Saltykov-Schedrin] Bulletin de l’Ácademie Imperiale des
intelligence: converging neuroimaging evidence. Behav Brain Sci 2007; Sciences 1915a;31: 14–54.
30: 135–154. Smirnov BL. Opisanie mozga professora N. N. Zinina [Description of the
Kapustin AA. O mozge uchenich v svayzi s problemoi vzaimootnosheniay brain of Professor N. N. Zinin) Bulletin de l’Ácademie Imperiale des
mezgu velichinoi mozga i odarennostju. [On the brain of the scientists Sciences, Peterburg 1915b;76: 951–76.
in respect to the correlation of the brain size and talent] Collected works Spitzka EA. Report of a study of the brains of six eminent scientists and
in honour of celebration of the 40th anniversary of Professor G. I. scholars belonging to the American Anthropometric Society; together with
Rossolimo’s clinical work. Moscow; Gosizdat; 1925. a brief desription of the skull of one of them. Am J Anat 1905; 4: III–IV.
Kapustin AA. O mozge uchenich v svayzi s problemoi vzaimootnosheniay Spivak M. Posmertnaia diagnostika genial’nosti: Eduard Bagritskii, Andrei
mezgu velichinoi mozga i odarennostju. [On the brain of the scientists Belyi, Vladimir Maiakovskii v kollektsii Instituta mozga. Materialy iz
in respect to the correlation of the brain size and talent]. Clin Arch arkhiva G. I. Poliakova [The posthumous diagnosis of genius: Eduard
Genius Talent (of Europathol) 1926; 2: 107–14. Bagritskii, Andrei Belyi, Vladimir Maiakovskii in the collection of the
Kozhevnikov AYa Osobyj vid kortikaljnoj epilepsii. [Special form of Institute of the Brain. Materials from the Archive of G. I. Poliakov].
cortical epilepsy] Medizinskoe obozrenie 1894; 14 19–21. Moscow: Agraf; 2001.
Lerner V, Margolin J, Witztum E. Vladimir Bekhterev: his life, his work Taylor IT. In the minds of men. Toronto: TFE Pub; 1996.
and the mystery of his death. Hist Psychiatry 2005; 16: 217–27. Tisserand DJ, Bosma H, Van Boxtel MPJ, Jolles J. Head size and cognitive
Lisitsin YuP. Kozhevnikov AYa i moskovskaya shkola nevro ability in nondemented older adults are related. Neurology 2001; 56:
patologov.[Kozhevnikov AYa and Moscow neurological school.] 969–71.
Moskva: Medgiz; 1961. Van Valen L. Brain size and intelligence in man. Am J Phys Anthropol
McDaniel M. A. Big-brained people are smarter: meta-analysis of the 1974; 40: 417–23.
relationship between in vivo brain volume and intelligence. Intelligence Vein AA. The Moscow clinic for nervous diseases. Walking along the
2005; 33: 337–46. portraits. J Hist Neurosci 2007; 16: 42–57.
Obersteiner H. Rukovodstvo k izucheniu stroeniay zentraljnoj nervnoj Vol’fson BIa. ‘Pantheon mozga’ Bekhtereva i ‘Institut genial’nogo
sistemy. [The anatomy of the central nervous organs in health and in tvorchestva Segalina’. [Bekhterev’s Pantheon of Brain and Segalin’s
disease.] Moskva: M.University; 1888. p. 363. Institute of Genius] Clin Arch Genius and Talent (of Europathol). 1928;
Ovsyannikov SA, Ovsyannikov AS. Sergey S. Korsakov and the beginning 1:52–60.
of Russian psychiatry. J Hist Neurosci 2007; 16: 58–65. Witelson SF, Beresh H, Kigar DL. Intelligence and brain size in 100
Retzius G. Das gehirn des mathematikers Sonja Kowalewski. Biologische postmortem brains: sex, lateralization and age factors. Brain 2006; 129
Untersuchungen neue Folge 1900; 9: 1–16. (Pt 2): 386–98.
Richter J. The Brain Commission of the International Association of Witelson Sf, Kigar DL, Harvey TH. The exceptional brain of Albert
Academies: the first international society of neurosciences. Brain Res Einstein. Lancet 1999; 353: 2149–53.
Bull 2000; 52: 445–57. Zernov DN. Individualjnje tipy mozgovych izvilin u cheloveka [Individual
Richter J. Pantheon of brains: the Moscow Brain Research Institute type of cerebral gyri in man]. Moskva: M. University; 1877. p. 80.
1925–1936. J Hist Neurosci 2007; 16: 138–49. Zernov DN. K voprosu ob anatomicheskich osobennostaych mozga
Sapin MR. Human anatomy. Moscow: Medizina; 1986. intelligentnych ludei. [On the problem of anatomical peculiarities of
Sirotkina I. Diagnosing literary enius: a cultural history of psychiatry in the brain of the intelligent men] Works of the 2nd Russian Congress of
Russia, 1880–1930. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press; the Physicians. Moskva: M.University; 1887.
2002. Zilles K, Armstrong E, Schleicher A, Kretschmann HJ. The human pattern
Smirnov BL. Opisanie mozgov V.V.Pashutina i M.E. Saltykova- of gyrification in the cerebral cortex. Anat Embryol (Berl) 1988; 179:
Schedrina. [Description of the brains of V. V. Pashutin and 173–9.