Big babies develop bigger brains

Big babies have bigger brains but it doesn’t make them smarter as they grow into children and teenagers, Norwegian researchers say.

A new study investigated 628 healthy US children and adolescents to compare individuals’ birth weight with brain structure, area, and volume, the Daily Telegraph reported.

It was found that babies who weighed the most at birth developed bigger brains, their genetic and social backgrounds, or their family’s economic status notwithstanding.

"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, said.

"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,” she added.