Why These Squirrels Destroy Their Brains Every Winter
It seems like a terrible idea to destroy and rebuild your own brain, but that is exactly what some ground squirrels are doing all winter long. Hosted by: Stefan Chin ...
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[ ♪ Intro ] We tend to think of our brains, at least by adulthood, as being pretty static. There will be some changes, but for the most part, the large structural shifts are over. But that’s not the case with hibernating ground squirrels. Several species actually deconstruct part of their brains, only to rebuild them again. And they don’t just do it once, when they come out of hibernation for the summer, they do it every 2-3 weeks during winter! For ground squirrels, hibernation is really more of a cycle than an annual event. To save energy, they curl up in cute balls in underground burrows, slow their metabolisms, and drop their temperatures way down, sometimes below freezing. And every few weeks they naturally warm their little bodies back up. Less than 24 hours later th...
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[ ♪ Intro ] We tend to think of our brains, at least by adulthood, as being pretty static. There will be some changes, but for the most part, the large structural shifts are over. But that’s not the case with hibernating ground squirrels. Several species actually deconstruct part of their brains, only to rebuild them again. And they don’t just do it once, when they come out of hibernation for the summer, they do it every 2-3 weeks during winter! For ground squirrels, hibernation is really more of a cycle than an annual event. To save energy, they curl up in cute balls in underground burrows, slow their metabolisms, and drop their temperatures way down, sometimes below freezing. And every few weeks they naturally warm their little bodies back up. Less than 24 hours later th...
