How does the amount of gyri in the brain affect problem-solving skills? This is an important and interesting question because as humans, problem-solving has always been our largest skill set. If humans don’t have the skill to proficiently solve a problem, we would be no different from other mammals idling on Earth. This is a topic that is compelling to me because I believe that discovering this can help find out what really makes humans different from other animals on our planet and what can be done to increase problem solving skills, which I hold as the key to innovation and creating a better future for humankind. 

The experiment will explore how the number of brain gyri could impact the testers’ logic and problem-solving skills and speed. For this experiment, I  propose using humans as study participants. The experiment will be completely safe and follow ethical guidelines. The participant will undergo an MRI scan to capture a detailed view of their brain. Participants will then be timed in solving a logical puzzle to collect a set of numerical data which will be used to investigate a link between the number of gyri in the brain to problem-solving skills. The reason I chose Homo sapiens to be the model of this experiment is that the experiment is completely safe, and the point of this experiment is to find a connection between folds and problem-solving skills that is directly linked to humans, so it would be best to test it directly on humans. 

My experimental hypothesis is that the more fissures a human has in the area of the frontal lobe,  the stronger the problem-solving skill is. I hypothesize this because it has been previously proven that the frontal lobe is the region in humans that is specialized in problem solving. Gyrus creates more storing space in the brain, so if there is more gyrus, it means that there are more cell bodies and dendrites, indicating chances for more neurological connection and possible stronger problem solving skills (Kleibeuker et al.).

My independent variable in this experiment is the gyrus in the brain, my dependent variable is the time taken to solve the logic puzzle and the controlled variable would be the puzzle and the room in which the experiment was conducted. 

Here is a table to show a more detailed list of my variables for this experiment.

Variable 
What
Independent
Number of gyrus in the model’s frontal lobe area
Dependent
The number of gyrus vs the time it took for the model to solve the logic puzzle
Controll
The same logic puzzle
The amount of water intake before the contestant take the logic puzzle
The models should take the logic puzzle simultaneously
The MRI machine for the models should be the same
The timer must be timed perfectly as the models take the logic puzzle

The techniques used to convey this experiment are the brain scans to measure the number of gyrus in a human brain and attempt to correlate it with the ability to solve a problem in the fastest possible way. The MRI scan of the frontal lobe would be best for this because it gives the clearest view of the brain structure of an individual from multiple angles, and though maybe a bit costly, is very efficient.

To validate my findings, I need the gyrus in my brain to be calculated perfectly, the exact same logic puzzle, and everything must be timed and synchronized since some claim that solving the same puzzle in day time/ night time could make a difference to the result. 

If my hypothesis is correct, I would hope to continue to investigate how gyrus could be formed in the brain to find out how to improve problem-solving skills in humans. This would be very important in future innovation and development of humanity and hopefully could speed up the pace of technology development. 

If my hypothesis is incorrect, I would like to further investigate whether there is a correlation between problem-solving skills and the number of gyrus. I would also want to discover more about the correlation between brain development in general and individual level in problem-solving.

I believe that this experiment could benefit the fields of neuroscience and human development as well as in some areas of psychology, as said, anything psychological is biological. This experiment would only require an MRI machine, a logic puzzle, a timer, and models to test on.  The experiment is simple to conduct and will contribute greatly to the fields of neuroscience and human development, it would make a huge difference in our knowledge of the brain.

Citations:

“Frontal Lobe.” Www.ruf.rice.edu, www.ruf.rice.edu/~lngbrain/cglidden/frontal.html. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.

Kenhub. “Lobes of the Brain.” Kenhub, Kenhub, 10 Aug. 2017, www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/lobes-of-the-brain. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.

Kleibeuker, Sietske W., et al. “Prefrontal Cortex Involvement in Creative Problem Solving in Middle Adolescence and Adulthood.” Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, vol. 5, July 2013, pp. 197–206, 10.1016/j.dcn.2013.03.003.

Maingard, Julian. “Frontal Lobe | Radiology Reference Article | Radiopaedia.org.” Radiopaedia, radiopaedia.org/articles/frontal-lobe. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.

“Neuroscience for Kids - Lobes of the Brain.” Washington.edu, 2017, faculty.washington.edu/chudler/lobe.html. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.

“The Brain & Problem Solving: Areas & Process.” Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/the-brain-problem-solving-areas-process.html. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.