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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Mamm. Sci.
Sec. Nervous System and Cognate Behaviors
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmamm.2024.1450655
This article is part of the Research Topic Editors' Showcase: Nervous System and Cognate Behaviors View all 7 articles

What makes each of us unique? The nine-banded armadillo as a model to study individuality

Provisionally accepted
Delva Pereira Leao Delva Pereira Leao 1,2*Marcelo O. Dietrich Marcelo O. Dietrich 1*Alvaro Duque Alvaro Duque 3,4,5*
  • 1 Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
  • 2 Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
  • 3 Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
  • 4 Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
  • 5 MacBrain Resource Center, Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The human brain is the foundation of our identity as a species and as individuals. It is where our unique sensations, emotions, and thoughts arise. The same way no two individuals are alike, no two brains are identical. Understanding the expression of inter-individual differences in brain and behavior and their underlying biological mechanisms can profoundly influence neuroscience and the science of individuality. Here, we argue that the nine-banded armadillo is a unique organism for the study of how inter-individual differences are expressed in the mammalian brain. Our argument is based on the fascinating reproductive biology of armadillos, the only known mammals that always generate offspring that are genetic clones, and on how this characteristic can help understand the complex interplay between genetic, environmental, and stochastic factors in the biology of individuality. We will first review the sources of variance in brain-related traits and behavior, then the biology of armadillos, and finally how they can aid in understanding the origins of variance in brain structure and function. Finally, we will provide an overview of the type of studies that can be performed using armadillos and how these studies can advance the science of individuality.

    Keywords: Dasypus novemcinctus, Brain Development, mammalian brain development, Stochastic developmental variation, comparative & evolutionary neuroscience

    Received: 17 Jun 2024; Accepted: 13 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Pereira Leao, Dietrich and Duque. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Delva Pereira Leao, Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, 06510, Connecticut, United States
    Marcelo O. Dietrich, Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, 06510, Connecticut, United States
    Alvaro Duque, Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, 06510, CT, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.