It is interesting to link the study of the turtle’s brain with that of humans. Humans belong to terrestrial mammals, from the perspective of Speciology, life originates in the sea. As reptiles, tortoises are closer to  terrestrial mammals than most amphibians. As Dr. Alice Powers described: “Reptiles are closely related to the ancestors of mammals. If we are interested in the ancestors of mammals, the best group to study is turtles. Turtles evolved early, during the period of dinosaurs.” Like a human brain, a turtle has a cerebral cortex, with different areas of the cortex responsible for different tasks. During the research, Dr. Powers and her team found that the turtles’ brains could generate new nerves when it receives new information, even as an adult.

They created several experimental environments to study the relationship between the turtle’s living environment and neural growth in the brain. Some turtles were put into a poor environment, and some turtles were put into an enriched environment. Meanwhile, some of the turtles were programmed to live alone, while others lived in groups. They assume that “animals in the enriched environment will have more new cells than those in individual housing. And animals in groups might have more new cells.” The experiment proved their hypothesis. 

This experiment reminds me of Dr. Temple Grandin’s study of autism. The difference is that autism is a congenital disorder. However, the good news is that with later therapy, taking art therapy, for example, children with autism can get along with society gradually. Perhaps, like the tortoises in the experiment, the brain of autistic children also could produce more new cells in the related cortex, areas that associate with social contact, with the help of adaptation and treatment.