Chernobyl birds have smaller brains.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Animals living in areas contaminated by radioactive material from Chernobyl suffer from increased oxidative stress and low levels of antioxidants. Therefore, normal development of the nervous system is jeopardized as reflected by high frequencies of developmental errors, reduced brain size and impaired cognitive abilities in humans. Alternatively, associations between psychological effects and radiation have been attributed to post-traumatic stress in humans.

Methodology/principal finding

Here we used an extensive sample of 550 birds belonging to 48 species to test the prediction that even in the absence of post-traumatic stress, there is a negative association between relative brain size and level of background radiation. We found a negative association between b

SUBMITTER: Moller AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3033907 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature