MRI scan of crocodiles may help find out more about dinosaur brainsMay 5, 2018 - 11:31 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Scientists have successfully used imaging technology for the first time to record the activities of a reptilian brain in a bid to learn more about dinosaurs, The Daily mail says. Researchers used an MRI to record the brain of a Nile crocodile - one of the few surviving species that share a common ancestor with dinosaurs - as it listened to classical music. An international research team led by the Department of Biopsychology at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany investigated what happens in a crocodile's brain when it hears complex sounds. They were able to determine that complex stimuli triggered activation patterns in the crocodile's brain that are similar to those in birds and mammals – a deep insight into evolution. Crocodiles are the most ancient species of vertebrates and have barely changed over the course of 200 million years, linking them closely to dinosaurs. "Analyses of crocodile brains thus provide deep insights into the evolution of the nervous system in mammals and may help us understand at which point certain brain structures and behaviors associated therewith were formed," said head researcher Felix Ströckens. The researchers then compared the results from the reptile to images from other mammals. 'In the first step, we had to overcome a number of technical obstacles,' said researcher Mehdi Behroozi. 'For example, we had to adjust the scanner to the crocodile's physiology, which differs massively from that of mammals in several aspects.' They found that additional brain areas are activated during exposure to complex stimuli such as classical music, as opposed to exposure to simple sounds. The processing patterns strongly resemble the patterns identified in mammals and birds in similar studies. From the new study, researchers can now assume that processing patterns formed at an early evolutionary stage and can be traced back to the same origins in all vertebrates, including dinosaurs. Photo. Getty Images Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |