In the study, scientists looked at the brains of 17 species of primates (灵长目动物) , including monkeys, apes and humans. They found that in the process of evolution, brains didn’t keep growing as a whole. Certain regions of the brain grew prior to others in response to species’ needs, and in this way they could make the best use of their limited brain space.

　　For example, when early humans were struggling to survive, the brain region in charge of using tools and finding food grew in size more than other regions. But in modern times, the prefrontal cortex (前额皮质) —the region in charge of social cognition (认知) , moral judgments and goal-directed planning—grew more than the rest of the brain.

　　Think of the brain as a room. If a big room is poorly organized, it doesn’t necessarily store more stuff than a smaller one.

　　Paul Manger, professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, explains this principle using the example of whales. He told Scientific American: “Whales have big brains, absolutely. But if you look at the actual structure of the brain, it’s not very complex. Brain size only matters if the rest of the brain is organized properly. ”

　　5. It has recently been found that humans are smarter than the other animals mainly because　.

　　A. they are a species of primates

　　B. they have much larger brains

　　C. their brain structure is more complex

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