Anatomical Demonstration of the Cognitive Ability of the Juvenile African Giant Pouched Rat (Cricetomys gambianus – Waterhouse, 1840)
Journal Title: Journal of Sustainable Veterinary & Allied Sciences - Year 2021, Vol 1, Issue 2
Abstract
Cognitive ability in animals is determined using indices such as Encephalisation Quotient (EQ), relative brain weight, glial quotient and neuronal index. In this study, the cognitive ability of the juvenile African giant pouched rat was determined using the EQ and relative brain weight. Brain samples were routinely extracted from thirty-two juvenile (16 males and 16 females, respectively) rats and fixed in freshly prepared 10% buffered formalin. The nose-rump length, tail length absolute and relative brain weights were determined according to standard technique while the EQ was computed using the Martin’s formula. Structural observations revealed a diamond shaped lissencephalic cerebral cortex with the caudal colliculi exposed from the dorsal transverse fissure of the intact brain. An EQ of 0.75 was deduced for the juvenile African giant pouched rat from the study. Sexual dimorphic analysis revealed mean relative brain weight of 6.64 ± 0.30 and 6.90 ± 0.22 and mean EQ of 0.71 ± 0.06 and 0.78 ± 0.02, for the male and female juveniles respectively. The mean differences between the males and females were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). However, there was a significant negative correlation between nose-rump length and EQ (R2 = 0.66; p < 0.05), nose-rump length and relative brain length (r2 = 0.49; p < 0.05) as well as nose-rump length and relative weight of cerebrum (R2 = 0.61; p < 0.05). The results were compared with that of other age groups of the same rodent and other juvenile rodents. It was concluded that the juvenile African giant pouched rat may be a better choice for memory and cognitive studies than the adult.
Authors and Affiliations
Ibe, C. S. , Ezeifeka, A. C. & Ikpegbu, E.
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP702945
- DOI 10.54328/covm/josvas.2021.028
- Views 89
- Downloads 0
Incidence of foetal wastage in goats in Umuahia, Abia state Nigeria.
This study investigated the indiscriminate slaughter of pregnant goats and the incidence of foetal wastage at Ahiaeke goat slaughter slab in Umuahia, Abia State for a period of 7 months (March – September 2018). A total...
Evaluation of Aflatoxin B1 in poultry feeds marketed in Nsukka agricultural zone, Enugu State, South Eastern Nigeria
Aflatoxin contamination of poultry feeds is a major challenge to profitable poultry productivity and trade. This study was carried out to evaluate the levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination of poultry feeds commonly...
Evaluation of foetal wastage and incidence of gross foetal and uterine abnormalities in goats at Gujungu slaughter house, Jigawa State
This study was designed to evaluate foetal wastage, associated economic loss and incidence of gross foetal and uterine abnormalities in goats (does) slaughtered at Gujungu slaughter house, Jigawa state, Nigeria. The stud...
Anthelminthic resistance of gastrointestinal nematode parasites of West African Dwarf goats in Ikwuano LGA, Abia State, Nigeria
Goat production in Nigeria has faced a major constraint resulting from parasitic infections, notably the parasitic gastrointestinal (GI) nematode which has resulted in high morbidity, mortality, high cost of treatment an...
Effect of graded levels of Moringa oleifera leaf meal on growth performance of growing male New Zealand white rabbits
A 60 day trial with sixteen growing male New Zealand White rabbits aged 3 - 4 months and average weight of 1750±0.00g were used to determine the effect of graded levels of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on growth per...