![]() With that, the sheep brain shares a high level of structural homology to the human brain. ![]() The average weight of an adult sheep brain is 130–140 g, compared to 1–2 g for a rodent brain and 1,300–1,400 g for an adult human brain. In particular, studies of neurological diseases in sheep have been enhanced in recent years with the production of a fully annotated sheep genome, as well as detailed 3D magnetic resonance image (MRI) atlases and the Michigan State University histological coronal atlas of the sheep brain ( 1– 8).įirst and foremost, sheep have a brain more comparable in size and anatomy to the human brain than smaller commonly used laboratory animals. Whilst the knowledge scientists have gained from the study of small animal models of neurological disorders is invaluable, sheep possess many advantages over smaller animals in studies concerned with modeling conditions of the human brain. Over the past two decades, the use of sheep ( Ovis aries) to model human neurological disorders has become increasingly popular. This review will provide an overview of the benefits of using sheep to model neurological conditions, and highlight naturally occurring and experimentally induced sheep models that have demonstrated translational validity. Many of these types of sheep models are currently being used for pre-clinical therapeutic trials, particularly gene therapy, with studies from several models culminating in potential treatments moving into clinical trials. Several neurological diseases have been found to occur naturally in sheep, however sheep can also be genetically engineered or experimentally manipulated to recapitulate disease or injury. Sheep are amenable to regular blood and cerebrospinal fluid sampling which aids in biomarker discovery and monitoring of treatment efficacy. They also have much longer life spans and are docile animals, making them useful for a wide range of in vivo studies. In particular, sheep have brains more comparable in size and structure to the human brain. While each animal model has its merits, sheep have many advantages over small animal models when it comes to studies on the brain. The past two decades have seen a considerable rise in the use of sheep to model human neurological disorders. Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.
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