Originally published at: Study reveals that cat brains are smaller than they used to be | Boing Boing
…
3 Likes
That shouldn’t be any surprise. It’s known that dogs’ brains have shrunk over the ages of domestication, and apparently “civilised” humans’ brains have also shrunk, compared with those living lives less proscribed and …more involved with the natural world, lets say. What is encouraging is the finding that dogs that run wild increase their brain size over a few generations. There’s hope for us yet.
5 Likes
Evidently it takes less intelligence to turn a human into a servant than it takes go be a hunter in the wild.
9 Likes
The brain is really expensive (for humans 20-25% of calories are consumed by the brain), so there is a clear reason to expect brains to not be larger than necessary.
I don’t know about this study, though. Somehow the reviewers let them get by without giving the brain/body ratios for the species. Their data just shows a change in head shape, but for animals that no longer hunt for survival there is another likely hypothesis for that other than their brains shrinking.
8 Likes
Yeah, it’s odd if they’re talking about overall brain size – domesticated animals, especially dogs, are very different in shape to their wild ancestors.
But then, maybe cognitive abilities do relate more to absolute than relative brain size? For instance, there’s no obvious reason why an elephant’s vision or hearing should require more brain mass than a squirrel’s (except the elephant has more skin).
Now I think about it, that’s an interesting question. A cow has a far larger brain than a mouse, but doesn’t have noticeably more mental abilities. Perhaps brain mass is strongly correlated to skin area, and we should be talking about brain kg per m2?
I don’t think that would account for whales’ colossal brains, but then they also have a lot of sonar processing to do.
3 Likes
I was always told it was more about surface area than mass anyways. So a smaller brain with more wrinkles might be more useful than a larger one that’s smooth as an egg. But my neuro classes are well behind me and I’m guessing people with larger and/or wrinklier brains than mine are likely on the case.
7 Likes
11 Likes
As a farm-boy I respectfully disagree. Have you seen mice turning up at the milking shed when it’s time to be milked?
4 Likes
I dunno, dairy mice, maybe?
2 Likes
Agreed. I grew up on a mouse-milk farm, and rounding the little buggers up was a nightmare. Every damn day.
6 Likes
Cows are smarter than mice—mice are dumb
I don’t think cows are smarter than rats though
1 Like
Anyway, would we really want smarter cats?
I mean, smarter cats would basically be monkeys, and monkeys are fucking terrifying
4 Likes
Cows are giant mice.
Discuss.
3 Likes
Both are spherical, for a start.
3 Likes
IKR? You can train cats to herd the mice, but then who will herd the herders?
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
