Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Cook, Peter

Area of Concentration

Biopsychology, Neuroscience

Abstract

Dolphins and whales have long fascinated the public and scientists alike. Although there is interest in unraveling the mystery of dolphin and whales’ large brains and complex behaviors, cetacean brains have been studied relatively little. Different species of cetaceans demonstrate wide ranging patterns of social organization, which provide an opportunity to investigate the neural correlates of social behaviors. This study examined the amygdala of four dolphin and whale species to investigate the link between connectivity in this brain region and social behaviors. Connectivity of the amygdala was found to vary with social complexity of the species. Pilot whales are the most social of the four species in this analysis, forming lifelong pods, and overall exhibit the strongest amygdala connectivity. Sei whales are mostly solitary and show the weakest amygdala connectivity. Atlantic white-sided dolphins and common dolphins both form short-term bonds within a larger group, and their amygdala connectivity tended to fall between the pilot whale and sei whale. An exploratory analysis of subcortical connectivity of the insula of the pilot whale was also conducted. A preliminary assessment suggests that the anatomically insular region of this cetacean might perform similar basic functions to the human insula. Cetacean brains can be used as a case study to investigate the neural connectivity that underlies social behaviors and to consider how ecological pressures affect brain evolution.

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