COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON THE BRAINS OF LOCAL BREEDS OF PIG (LANDRACE BREED) AND DOG (MONGREL BREED)
George I. O.*, Fawehinmi H. B., Oyakhire M. O., Musa S. A. Akintola O. M.
ABSTRACT
Pig and dog are domestic animals that are useful to man. Dog is well known for its friendship with man while pig serves as a good source of protein to human. However, research has shown pig to have a higher Intelligence Quotient (IQ) than dog. What is the neuroanatomical basis for this difference in cognitive behavior? Five adult pigs and dogs each were used in this study. Gross morphometry and morphology were carried out on tissues of whole brain specimens of pig and dog fixed in 10% buffered formal saline solution. Histological analysis was done on their ventromedial prefrontal cortex which is responsible for higher cognitive functions. Both brains of pig and dog were gyrencephalic. There was a statistically significant increase in the number of sulci on pig brain compared to dog. Pig brain weighed 111.80±8.125g while dog brain weighed 65.52±3.352g. Also pig had longer right and left olfactory bulbs respectively (2.20±0.064cm; 2.27±0.078cm) than dog (1.43±0.133cm; 1.43±0.129cm). These values were not statistically significant. Pig paired olfactory bulbs were separated with a gap of about 0.5cm to 0.7cm which was absent in dog. There was a patent olfactory ventricle in pig olfactory bulb which was collapsed in dog. Betz cells of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex of pig had larger-sized cells, although the cells appeared to be more densely packed and smaller-sized in dog. Structural differences exist in the brains of pig and dog which could be related to their behavioral differences with respect to cognitive functions.
Keywords: Morphology, Morphometry, Prefrontal cortex, Pig, Dog.
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