tara. 2005 Nov 27. Animal Minds. <http://neurobiology.pharyngula.org/animal_minds/>. Accessed 2006 May 01.
Posted on Neurobiology on Sunday, November 27, 2005
Animal Minds
I ran across an interesting show airing on PBS, a three-part mini-Nature mini-series that takes a look at topics such as animal emotion and intelligence. ">Inside the Animal Mind a three-part mini-Nature mini-series that takes a look at topics such as animal emotion and intelligence.
The first part explores the intelligence of birds, dispelling the common conception that the title birdbrain is less than favorable. In fact evidence from this episode shows that some birds have incredible abilities, and are really much smarter than even anticipated.
Part two of the series examines the role of emotions and emotional behavior in animals. A study on African baboons by research Robert Sapolsky examined the role of stress and stress related hormones in the animals’ life and how these are affected through social situations. The detrimental effects of stress on an animal’s physiological state are also discussed. Surprisingly, the hippocampus can be damaged if it has prolonged exposure to stress hormones.
The third part of the series, explores the idea of consciousness and how this applies to animal models apart from our own as humans.
The site offers a lot of good, basic information without too much scientific jargon. If you are looking for something a little more in-depth, many of the links listed provide a good starting point leading to more in-depth information regarding many of the topics discussed. If you are looking for something interesting yet simple, this is a good place to check out.