Editing Encephalization quotient (section)

=== Grey floor ===
The driving theorization behind the development of EQ is that an animal of a certain size requires a minimum number of neurons for basic functioning, sometimes referred to as a grey floor. There is also a limit to how large an animal's brain can grow given its body size – due to limitations like gestation period, energetics, and the need to physically support the encephalized region throughout maturation. When normalizing a standard brain size for a group of animals, a slope can be determined to show what a species' expected brain to body mass ratio would be. Species with brain to body mass ratios below this standard are nearing the grey floor, and do not need extra grey matter. Species which fall above this standard have more grey matter than is necessary for basic functions. Presumably these extra neurons are used for higher cognitive processes.<ref name="Dunbar R.I. 2007 1344–1347">{{citation |author=Dunbar R.I. |title=Evolution in the social brain |journal=Science |volume=317 |issue=5843 |pages=1344–1347 |publisher=science magazine |bibcode=2007Sci...317.1344D |year=2007 |doi=10.1126/science.1145463 |pmid=17823343 |s2cid=1516792 }}</ref>