On the outside , R222 is a 2 - year - old lab rat that looks like any other . He play like any other dirty dog , smell out his path around his cage , get word and hearing and feeling as any other stinkpot might . But for R222 ’s entire life , this experimental gnawer has been hide a neurological closed book : a highly deteriorated , contract genius that would otherwise render the animal whole clumsy .
That ’s because R222 suffered from a terrible case ofhydrocephalus , a buildup of fluid in the ventricles , or fluid - containing cavity of the brain , that redact pressure on the reed organ . In the rat ’s case , the condition was so severe that its brain had compressed and collapsed on itself . In most cases , hydrocephaly can cause debilitating cognitive and motor problem and a shortened life , while others may exhibit no personality transfer .
Scientists came across this innate “ miracle ” during a study on aging at the Center for Translational Neuroimaging at Northwestern University . At the starting time of their work , investigator were scanning the brains of very old rats when it was reveal that R222 ’s severely cerebral mantle was severely slim down and replaced by cerebrospinal fluid and his genus Hippocampus was pack together and likely had been since the animal ’s birth .
To determine how R222 held up against other stinkpot in his age group , researchers placed each rodent in a Plexiglass box to see how they responded to new stimuli localise within . They then observed rotter as they navigated through a snarl and how well they poise on a radio beam – all test to evaluate spatial and motor skills as well as remembering . With the exception of exploring a new environment , R222 perform just as well as the other rats .
encephalon and Cortical Volumes . usher is the average total mind intensity ( brain and CSF filled ventricle ) of five age - matched controls and R222 . The MR images draw the actual sizing of R222 ’s brain as compared to that of an age - jibe control with the cortices in each highlighted in Bolshevik . Scientific Reports
But how could a dirty dog with no genius act like a rat with a in full intact one ? Neuroplasticity . Though it ’s an extremely rare case , the researchers say that R222 is a select example of how a learning ability can reorganize itself when perfectly necessary . Rather than entropy being processed in small component part across the entire expanse of the wit , the researchers saw that selective information was process across the totality of R222 ’s very small , collapsed brain . R222 was mesh at the “ mere minimum ” for most of its lifetime – its brain was distort and essential area , such as the hippocampus , were not even discernable in learning ability scans . It was only by tracing chemical signal that researchers were able to verify their squished , deformed locations .
" The lower part of the psyche stem had everything collapsed in it , " said researcher Craig Ferris in astatement . " This animal just defaulted to what phylogenesis gave it in the beginning , along with all the other animals , to help oneself it come through . "
Of course , the rat live in a controlled environment for two years and did not need to act on any real life - threatening scenario . But researcher concluded that R222 ’s ability to adapt neurologically lends data to how brains may function and change over the row of our lives .
" One of the things I always get a boot out of is the hubris that we have about how extremely organize our mentality is – and how complex it is , " Ferris said . " We ’ve really focused so much attending on the cerebral cortex , and here you have these cases where you may almost eliminate the cerebral cortex – declamatory portions of it – and it ’s not make a heck of a lot of difference . "
The jury is still out as to why R222 lose such a hard case of hydrocephaly in the first place , though the researchers hypothesise that it could have been a genetic chromosomal mutation at birth . The findings are published inScientific Reports .
