In the endless battle for our hearts, who stands victorious? Is it cats or dogs? Some pet owners claim both, while others swear by one or the other. No matter where you appear on the spectrum, the jury is still out, and opinions will remain forever subjective.
In a challenge of intellect, which species do you believe wins? You’ll soon realize the answer involves a literal opening of the mind. No matter your position on dogs or cats, the answer isn’t as black and white or ‘paw and claw’ as one might think.
You’ve Got Some Nerve.
Suzana Herculano-Houzel is an Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University. She also holds a master’s of science degree in neuroscience from Case Western Reserve University. According to Houzel, the secret to probing information from an animal brain is no different than blending fruits and veggies in a magic bullet to make a smoothie. That’s right. You puree the brain.
This process allows Houzel to determine how many neurons a brain has. Neurons are responsible for transmitting information in the body via chemical and electrical signals. A 2017 study by the Frontiers in Neuroanatomy journal measures the number of neurons of more than several different animals. Dogs and cats are among them.
Turning a brain into soup sounds strange. Eerily cannibalistic, it brings to mind Hannibal Lecter or other anti-hero types who prey on their fellow man. Yet science demands explicit knowledge, which scientists attain through techniques such as Houzel’s, probing into the body to understand it at the cellular level. It’s all done in the name of science, even if slightly unusual.
Houzel first creates this technique for purposes of studying neurons of human brains. Once a brain is liquefied into the raw matter, scientists can view the individual components of a neuron. Using this same process, one can identify the number of neurons in animal brains as well.
However, there is no harm to the animals in this process, because they are already dead. The brains are donations from various sources, usually zoos and wildlife facilities and preserves, as well as pet owners.
The Secret Of The Animal Mind
In the study, dogs have 280 million more neurons than cats, 530 and 250 million, respectively. The larger animals in the study, such as the lion, have fewer neurons. Although it’s easy to presume the correlation between brain and or body size and intelligence, size is irrelevant.
Houzel’s study reveals that bears possess the same number of neurons as cats. Raccoons have the same amount of neurons as a dog, even though their brains are the same size as cats. This further proves brain size has no bearing on intelligence.
When Houzel’s team investigates further by observing pastureland animals, they learn these plant-eaters share the same number of neurons with predatory ones. The number of neurons evens out among comparisons between wild animals and pets. As for us humans, we have 16 billion neurons.
The Big Picture
We still haven’t answered our question of who’s smarter. All animals possess some level of intelligence. Pet owners, too, can attest to the mental capabilities of dogs and cats. It is also true that there are different kinds of intelligence.
On the surface dogs appear to be up a point. They have more neurons. While true, one cannot necessarily compare intelligence across species in this way.
In nature, animals’ intelligence is best suited to their natural environment. They are often brilliant within their element because their mental skills have adapted to particular functions.
Ants, lift exponentially more times their body weight. Humans can’t pull off such a show of strength. Take the sonar of a whale, for instance, versus the hearing of a primate. One cannot think of intelligence this way either.
Moreover, no such study exists to measure intelligence across all species, a truly daunting and formidable task.
The Verdict
On paper, dogs have more neurons than cats. According to Houzel, dogs have a higher capacity for learning tasks and commands. Think of all the varying roles dogs play in society. They work as guide dogs. They sniff out disease and even bombs. They offer therapy. There are also competitions of all kinds devoted entirely to dogs.
However, that dogs have more neurons doesn’t mean cats are incapable, or that one cannot find cats in similar roles. If you were to compare them in other ways, one might say cats are more intelligent in one area, and dogs in another and vice versa.
Ultimately, these are two different animals. There are variations of intelligence between them, such that we might conclude that despite the disparity in the number of neurons, they’re equally intelligent. In the absence of broader studies, intellect remains a primarily human construct.
In the stories I read about our favorite pets, it seems these domesticated animals both prove themselves smart and adaptable. Even as we’re able to count neurons, undoubtedly, for some, the question of who’s smarter remains a qualitative one.
Besides, humans are at the top of the food chain, but can’t you think of some who aren’t quite up to standard? I don’t think our discussion of cats and dogs is this simple either.
As a concession, I think there’s room for both of these furry pals in our hearts. That said, in an open declaration of my bias, I still side with dogs. A point is a point, after all.
Video credits to PBS News Hour
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