It may not be language as we know it, but whales have no shortage of ways to make themselves understood. So broad is their vocal repertoire, in fact, that whales can call to their young, woo potential mates and even express emotions, according to researchers who have identified 622 social sounds in humpback whales.
But, now the researchers reported Humpback whales have a type of brain cell seen only in humans, the great apes, and other cetaceans such as dolphins. The finding may help explain some of the behaviors seen in whales, such as intricate communication skills, the formation of alliances, cooperation, cultural transmission and tool usage, using tools surely don’t mean that when they get together they create big iPods.
Researchers studied the brains of humpback whales and discovered a type of cell called a spindle neuron in the cortex, in areas comparable to where they are seen in humans and great apes.
Although the function of spindle neurons is not well understood, they may be involved in cognition — learning, remembering and recognizing the world around oneself. Alzheimer’s disease and other debilitating brain disorders such as autism and schizophrenia may affect spindle cells.
It is thus likely that some of these abilities are related to comparable histologic complexity in brain organization in cetaceans and in hominids.
Via: Reuters
