BLUF
It used to be thought that part of the human brain still had reptilian qualities—the so-called 'lizard brain'—scientists have shown that this is not the case.Summary
Michelle Starr writing in Science Alert makes the following points:
- Around 320 million years ago, the first four-limbed animals (tetrapods) emerged from the water onto land.
- They split into two-parent families, birds and reptiles in one and mammals in the other.
- Scientists sequenced RNA molecules in bearded dragons’ brains and then compared them with mouse brains.
- There are a core set of neuron types in mammals and reptiles.
- Most regions of the brain have a mix of ancestral and newer types of neurons within them.
References
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References from the Web
- AUG 2022 We Don’t Have A Little Reptile Brain-CFI
- SEP 2022 No, we don’t have a ‘lizard brain’-BioTechniques
