One of the main questions for a long time now in cognitive science, psychology and neuroscience has been whether or not overall brain size or the size of specific areas of the brain leads to greater cognitive abilities in animals. There has been a buzz around wasp brains for some time now and it looks like with good cause. Recent findings from the University of Washington have shown that wasps with bigger bodies, who have bigger brains devote more of their time and resources to tissues in the brain that coordinate complex social interactions such as learning memory and other social behaviours. The researchers now hope to test the hypothesis that largeer brained creatures compared to their body mass, will have more enhanced cognitive behaviours when compared with smaller brained animals. So the next time someone criticises a wasp and questions the essence of their existence you can validate it by telling them that they make for great socialisers.
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