The Chemistry of a Tiger's Brain

Introduction

Tigers are majestic animals. The way they behave and the way they interact with each other is uncommon among other animals. The reason I chose this as my project is because they are my favorite animal. Knowing that they are critically endangered is disheartening since the main reason why they are endangered at all is because of humankind. Composition of ...The tiger’s brain has three main chemicals that control the way that they behave. Oxytocin (C43H66N12O12S2), dopamine (C8H11NO2) and acetylcholine (C7NH16O2).Main Chemicals, Compounds, Components

One of the main chemicals in a tiger’s brain is oxytocin. Oxytocin (C43H66N12O12S2) is produced in the hypothalamus (temporal lobe) and pituitary gland(between the temporal and the parietal lobe). This produces trust which tigers require a lot of trust in order to remain solitary animals and then be able to work together on a hunt or share their kill with others. The second main chemical in a tiger’s brain is acetylcholine. C7NH16O2 or acetylcholine then produces arousal, attention, and motivation. Tigers require to have a great attention span when they are hunting so they can keep a look out for their prey and for predators that may want to cause them harm. Also they must be able to keep their attention focused on their prey when they are waiting for an opportunity to attack their prey.

Background Research

The Panthera tigris or the tiger is the largest and friendliest of the cat family. There are now only six subspecies of them when there use to be nine. Tigers have a wide range of prey from water buffalo to crocodiles to hares. Tigers love water and they love to be alone of course a mother and her cubs are an exception about being solitary, but when tigers have hunted and killed their prey and another tiger comes along they will usually share their meal and males will let the children and females eat first. The tiger’s brain weighs about 300 grams (10 ounces). Their short term memory lasts up to about thirty times longer than a human’s.

Resources

http://slightlyviral.com/amazing-facts-about-tigers/

    • has facts about their brain
    • has facts about their behavior

http://www.defenders.org/tiger/basic-facts

    • just basic information about the tiger

http://listverse.com/2012/09/10/50-unusual-facts-about-tigers/

    • give some details about tigers and the way they behave.
    • also gives some more information about a tiger’s brain

http://www.tigers.org.za/tigers-communication.html

    • Communication

http://neurosciencelibrary.org/specimens/carnivora/tiger/index.html

    • Tiger’s brain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin

    • Give information about oxytocin

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylcholine

  • Acetylcholine information

About the Author

Mykala Davis is currently a junior at Billings Senior High school. She enjoys reading books and participating in her school’s choir program. Mykala also loves animals and has 4 dogs and 5 cats at home.