Albert Einstein most likely had a tangible advantage over his contemporaries and over those to follow, according to research from Florida State University (FSU).

Dean Falk, an FSU evolutionary anthropologist and co-author of the study, said the left and right hemisphere of Einstein's brain was unusually well connected, which could have enabled his brilliance.

"This study, more than any other to date, really gets at the 'inside' of Einstein's brain," Falk said in a news release. "It provides new information that helps make sense of what is known about the surface of Einstein's brain."

Falk and his colleague's work, lead by East China Normal University's physics professor Weiwei Men, is published in the journal Brain. For the study, the researchers developed a new technique to examine the intricate layout of the human brain. It is the first to analyze Einstein's corpus callosum, the largest bundle of fibers in the brain, which are also responsible for connecting both hemispheres, and enables communication between them.

The technique applies color codes to the subdivisions along the length of the corpus callosum, where signals are delivered between hemispheres, which vary depending on thickness. The thickness in color represented how "connected" the two sides of the brain were in certain regions. The placement of the connections along the length affects different activities and capabilities.

The researchers compared Einstein's sample to two groups: 15 elderly men and 52 his age in 1905, "the miracle year." In 1905, Einstein, 26, had four articles published that effectively shaped the foundation of modern physics. Those papers changed the way many people thought about mass, space, time and energy.

Compared to both younger and older brains, Einstein's showed more sophisticated connectivity between various parts of his cerebral hemispheres.

"This technique should be of interest to other researchers who study the brain's all-important internal connectivity," Falk said.