Compare the pig brain to drawings of a human brain, a fish brain, and a bird brain. Can you see how the pig’s anatomy parallels human anatomy? What can you conclude about our relation to animals like pigs? Like birds? Like fish?

Question

I have not been able to find anything on birds brain or fish brain.

Answer 1

When comparing a pig brain to a human brain, we can observe some notable parallels in anatomical structure. Both pig and human brains have a well-developed cerebrum, responsible for higher cognitive functions such as learning, memory, and decision-making. Additionally, both species have a cerebellum that helps regulate motor control and coordination.

In contrast to pig and human brains, fish brains are less evolved and have less connectivity among different brain regions, indicating less complexity in cognitive processing. Fish brains typically have a larger olfactory bulb responsible for the sense of smell but a smaller, less-developed cerebrum compared to humans and pigs.

Bird brains have a unique structure, as they possess a highly developed hyperpallium, which replaces the cerebral cortex in mammals. The hyperpallium is vital for sensory processing, navigation, and complex behavioral patterns. Bird brains also have a distinctive structure called the Wulst, involved in processing visual and tactile stimuli. Overall, bird brains are highly efficient and specialized for their needs, even though they are smaller in size than mammalian brains.

From these comparisons, we can conclude that human anatomy shares similarities with other animals, including pigs. This indicates that during the evolutionary process, some shared traits have been conserved among species. Our relationship to animals like pigs suggests that there might be some common ancestors in the distant past, as we share several neurological structures related to higher cognitive processes. On the other hand, our relationship to animals like fish and birds is less direct and more distant, with less similarity in brain structure and function, emphasizing the divergence in evolution among different animal classes.