Central nervous system (display 88)

The elephant brain can weigh up to 5 kg, or four times more than a human brain. However, it represents only 0.18% of the animal’s body weight (compared to an average of 2% in humans).

What distinguishes elephants from other mammals is the cerebellum, which is responsible for motor coordination of the body. It occupies about 18% of the volume of the encephalon (10-15% for other mammals) and is characterised by a very high number of neurons. This peculiarity may be linked to the elephant’s trunk, which is very tactile, mobile and muscular, and the control of which requires complex processing of sensory and motor information.