This is an interesting one - and something I had never read about before. Really, it is the story of a crazy and then obsessive doctor - and of something that should be considered a national treasure? Or a benchmark for future genetic engineering? However you look at it, an interesting story.

The Strange Case of Einstein’s Brain

Albert Einstein led an interesting life to say the least. In one year alone, in 1905, what scientists have called his ‘Miracle year’ he revolutionized physics and electromagnetism. His equation, E=mc2, is the most well-known equation in the world. Every new pronouncement from Einstein was front page news. He made headlines all his life. But the headlines did not stop with his death in 1955. And his interesting story continued on as well.
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The story of Einstein’s Brain only starts with his death on April 18th, 1955. Up until that point, the story of his brain is inextricably part of the story of Einstein himself. After his death, Einstein’s Brain begins its own journey, and its own story.

The Journey of Einstein’s Brain

Einstein’s brain was removed and weighed during the course of his autopsy by Dr. Thomas Harvey of Princeton Hospital. Dr. Harvey cut Einstein’s brain into 240 sections and placed the pieces in jars of formaldehyde. The rest of Einstein went to the crematorium to be cremated in accordance with Einstein’s wishes.

The question of whether Dr. Harvey had permission to do this at the time has caused debate to this day. Dr. Harvey claimed that he did have. Einstein’s family did not. The latest biography about Einstein, written by Walter Isaacson, explores the various claims and evidence in a chapter toward the end. Apparently Dr. Harvey called up Einstein’s son, Hans Albert, after the fact and got him to give grudging permission, claiming that Dr. Einstein would have wanted his brain to be used in research and to enhance knowledge. Hans Albert agreed under the condition that Professor Einstein’s brain be used only for scientific research, the results of which be published in qualified scientific journals.

Despite these promises, and despite holding onto Einstein’s brain for years, Dr. Harvey never published any findings. Any time someone of the press would find him and ask, he would always remark that he was just a year away from publishing his findings. Eventually Dr. Harvey lost his job from the controversy, got divorced, and began moving around the country, taking Einstein’s brain with him wherever he went. Occasionally he would send off pieces of the brain to researchers, but mostly he guarded the treasure closely.

In 1978, Steven Levy, a reporter then of New Jersey Monthly, tracked down Dr. Harvey in Wichita, Kansas. There Levy wrote about Dr. Harvey taking out the mason jars holding the sections of Einstein’s brain to show him, from where they were being stored in a box in the corner of his office labeled ‘Costa Cider’. The publication caused a flurry of excitement in the media, and again aroused interest in the sacred cerebrum.

In the 1980s, after Dr. Harvey gave her some sections of the brain, Professor Marion Diamond of the University of California, Berkeley performed some tests and found the first possible differences between Einstein’s brain and ‘normal’ people. Einstein’s brain had a higher ratio of glial cells to neurons than the other test brains in some regions. The findings, published in 1985, again caused a swirl of speculation and interest. However, this test has come under criticisms for some of its methods, including the differences in age between most of the other brains and Einstein’s, as well as the fact that only one test out of 22 were chosen as significant.

One of the stranger twists of this story took place when Dr. Harvey and a writer by the name of Michael Paterniti, took a cross country road trip with Einstein’s brain in the trunk of a Buick Skylark to visit Einstein’s granddaughter Evelyn. Paterniti wrote a book entitled Driving Mr. Albert, recounting the tale.

The Return of Einstein’s Brain

Einstein’s brain was returned to Princeton in 1996 when Dr. Harvey handed it over to Dr. Elliot Krauss, his successor at Princeton Hospital. Finally the brain was given serious scientific study.

It wasn’t long until another team of scientists, working from the samples of Einstein’s brain, published results indicating another anomaly of Einstein’s brain. The study, published in 1999, found that Einstein’s brain was wider in the area concerned with mathematics and spacial thinking. Also, the Sylvian fissure was almost absent in Einstein’s brain in this area. Scientists speculate this may have allowed parts of his brain to communicate a little better. So, finally it was proven that there were some structure differences in Einstein’s brain. Though whether his constant mental exercise caused some differences, or whether differences in brain structure made a difference in his thinking is unknown. Kind of a mental chicken and egg.

Einstein himself dismissed ideas of a physiological, mental difference between himself and others, preferring to lay the credit for his successes on an insatiable curiosity and drive to unravel the mysteries of the universe. One thing is certain, with the strange journey that Einstein’s brain has taken so far, it’s mysteries are far from over