Instead the researchers say it supports the view that the evolution of larger brains is driven by diet. According to the study, primates that eat fruit have about 25% more brain tissue than leaf-eaters of the same body weight. Omnivores were also found to have larger brains than leaf-eaters, although there was no difference when compared to fruit eaters. “You cannot evolve a large brain to handle anything, social or otherwise, unless you change your diet to allow greater nutrient acquisition so as to grow a larger brain,” he said. “But that is not an explanation for why large brains evolved.”

Source: The Guardian March 27, 2017 15:11 UTC