This web exhibit was first built in 2000 by Patricia Anne Kinser, Haverford College, under the direction of Paul Grobstein, Bryn Mawr College. The updated version of Comparative Neuroanatomy and Intelligence is now online at http://serendipstudio.org/exchange/brains. This old version has been archived in place, and will continue to be available for teachers and students who are using it.

Home Page

Compare Brains

• Pictures
  
• Similarities
  
• Differences

Compare Brain and Body Sizes

• Brains & Bodies
  
• Equalize body size
  
• Equilize brain size

Compare Brain Structures- Slices and Slides

• Directional terminology
  
• Sagittal cuts
• Main structures
• What's the point: magnification

The Neuron- Up Close and Personal

• Jello, mush, or neuron?
  
• Neurons in animals
  
• What is a neuron?
• Fun facts

The Question of Intelligence

• Why do we care?
  
• Methods for studying brain & intelligence

Links

Glossary

Bibliography

What if we look at these brains from the inside?? What will we see? What can we learn by slicing into a brain and exploring the structures inside? What would you like to learn?

Looking at structures of the brain of an animal can reveal much about that animal. Have you thought of any differences between animals that interests you? As the pictures we've seen reveal, the brains of animals come in a large variety of sizes, shapes, and degrees of complexity. Why are they so varied? In what ways do different brains differ from one another? Do larger brains give greater adaptability to their owners? How are the observed differences in brain's external appearance reflected in their internal structure? Are different brains wired differently or made up of different materials? You also may have some questions about, say:

• Why do humans and frogs communicate in different ways?
• Do animals with impressive motor skills have different structures that allow those skills?
• What structure is associated with intelligence?
  
  
  
• How can we differentiate between structures anyhow?

First, let's talk about the basics. What does it mean to "slice" a brain? Click on the button below . . .

Slicing terminology

Can we skip this and just start slicing?

Huh? Where am I?