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How many neurons does the typical human brain have? 

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Ioan Opris, Manuel F. Casanova 
01 Jan 2017
12 Citations
We suggest that cognitive functions are largely mediated by the neocortex, and because the human brain scales like a typical primate brain, the large neocortex of humans contains more neurons than any other mammal, even those with larger brains such as elephants.
If we assume that all concepts possessed by a single human being can be encoded by single neurons in this manner, there are enough neurons in the human cortex only if we assume that most of these concept neurons are specified by learning.
We show that brain structure mass scales with numbers of nonneuronal cells, and numbers of cerebellar neurons scale with numbers of cerebral cortical neurons, comparable to what we have found in eutherians.
The present study provides detailed maps of the distribution and number of mesopontine cholinergic neurons in the normal human brain.
We report a much wider distribution and greater numbers of LHRH neurons than have been previously described in the human brain.
This new approach will allow, in culture, detailed multidisciplinary analyses of individual neurons and small networks of neurons from the mammalian brain.

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