On the influence of exercise on the weight of the central nervous system of the albino rat / Henry H. Donaldson.

  • Donaldson, Henry Herbert, 1857-1938.
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: On the influence of exercise on the weight of the central nervous system of the albino rat / Henry H. Donaldson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF THE ALBINO RAT HENRY H. DONALDSON The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology Two years ago Dr. Hatai (’09) called attention to the fact that the central nervous system in the Norway rat, Mus norvegi- cus, was distinctly heavier than that in the albino rat, which is a strain derived from the Norway, Hatai (’07). Thus in animals of the same body weight, both the brain and the spinal cord of the Norway was found to be heavier than in the corresponding albino. In view of Darwin’s observations (’83) on the diminution in skull capacity in domesticated strains and of Lapicque and Gi- rard’s observations (’07) on the diminution of brain weight under the same conditions, it seemed probable that we had in the case of the albino rat, which only thrives in captivity, but another example of the effects of domestication on the development of the central nervous system. Under these circumstances it appeared worth while to deter- mine if possible just what factors in domestication brought about this result. For this purpose we have attempted to analyze the condition of domestication into its elements with a view to testing these one by one. On considering the differences in the mode of life between the wild gray rat and the captive albino, it became apparent for one thing that in a general way the albino took less exercise than the wild form. The diminution in the amount of exercise is then one of the several factors possibly contributing to the difference. The present experiments were undertaken therefore THE JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, VOL. 21, NO. 2 APRIL, 1911