| Project/Area Number |
21K06404
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Review Section |
Basic Section 46020:Anatomy and histopathology of nervous system-related
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| Research Institution | Hokkaido University |
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Principal Investigator |
PATZKE NINA 北海道大学, 高等教育推進機構, 助教 (20801690)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2021-04-01 – 2022-03-31
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| Project Status |
Discontinued (Fiscal Year 2021)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,030,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥930,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
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| Keywords | evolution / brain / comparative neuroanatomy / carnivores / pinnipeds / Brain / Pinnipeds / Evolution / Comparative neuroanatomy / Marine mammals |
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| Outline of Research at the Start |
In this project we aim to determine the strength of environmental influence, specifically the aquatic environment, on the evolution of the mammalian brain by investigating the semi-aquatic carnivores, the pinnipeds (seals, sea lions and walruses).
The acquired knowledge will be valuable in assessing the potential for the influence of the environment on mammalian brains in general, as environmental factors are often cited in relation to mammalian brain evolution, but specifics, in terms of what the environment can actually influence in terms of brain morphophysiology are still unknown.
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In this project we aim to determine the strength of aquatic environment, on the evolution of the mammalian brain by investigating the semi-aquatic carnivores, the pinnipeds. We will determine whether the pinniped brain is more similar to the taxonomically related terrestrial carnivores or the environmentally related fully aquatic whales. We collected specimens of 5 spotted seals, 2 Steller sea lions, 4 bears and 2 racoons. All brains were scanned for structural analysis using a 3T MRI scanner. The data of hippocampal volume and brain volume has been processed and hippocampi of all 4 species have been subjected to immunohistochemistry. Our preliminary results demonstrate that pinnipeds have relative smaller hippocampi compared to terrestrial carnivores. Furthermore the semiaquatic pinnipeds have a reduced adult hippocampal neurogenesis. These results are in line with the findings we previously observed in whales.
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