CT Scan Shows Developed Mammalian Brain

Knoxville, TN- September 17, 2015 3:40 p.m.

By: Meredith Maroney
Dr. Timothy Rowe, of the University of Texas at Austin, discussed the
importance of CT (Computerized Tomography) scans in understanding
the mammalian brain at the University of Tennessee.
The neocortex was an essential part of the mammalian brain because
it included the visual field and the somatosensory field. This was what
set mammals apart from other animals.
Through CT scans, Dr. Rowe was successful in showing the evolutionary
developments of the neocortex in the mammalian brain.
The CT scan initially scanned the Thrinaxodon skull in South Africa.
While the CT scan was groundbreaking, the individual images were
blurry, which made it challenging to distinguish certain parts of the
skull.

Endocaste of Cynodontia

Since the initial scanning of the

Thrinaxodon
skull,
many
advancements were made in the
technology of CT scans. It
originally took the Bio Imaging
Research
of
Chicago
353
minutes to scan a 5 cm long
surface of a fossil, but it recently
took
North
Star
Imagings
Inspection Services Group 36
minutes to scan the same fossil.

With the development of 3D

imaging, Dr. Rowe claimed, CT
is turning into a realm of discovery. In 1 minute and 4 seconds,
paleontologists saw the mouse brain in its entirety and in three,
different sections. This progress has helped make scanning fossils
more effective.

The Decrease in Time Taken to Perform a CT scan

400
350
300
250
Time taken to perform CT scan (in minutes)

200
150
100
50
0
Bio Imaging Research of Chicago

Source: Dr. Timothy Rowe (From Left to Right: Bio Imaging Research of
Chicago, North Star and the University of Texas at Austin)
Recently, Dr. Rowe used 4D imaging to study the evolution of the
mammalian brain. The 4D imaging showed the development of the
brain in fossils that were not sensitive to radiation. With 4D imaging,
Dr. Rowe and other paleontologists used 4D virtual endocastes, an
internal cast of a hollow object, to study fossils more intimately.
Endocastes have protected fossils from breakage.
Dr. Rowes 3D files were made open source, and he has expressed his
desire for members of the paleontological community to use them for
further evolutionary research and development.