Research Background: Aging in mammals is characterized by a gradual decline in the physiological functions and responses of organs and tissues. The African grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) is the second largest rodent in sub-Saharan Africa. Objectives: The aim of this research was to record the brain sizes of African grasscutter across all age groups. Methods: Brain samples were collected from forty-two (42) male African grasscutter (AGC) using basic neuroanatomical techniques. Animals were divided into neonates (PND 6), peripubertal (PND 30), juveniles (PND 90), subadults (PND 240), young adults (PND 720), mid-adults (PND 1400), and older animals (PND 1800). The dimensions (length, width and height) of the brain, the cerebellum and olfactory bulb of each sample were examined with a one-way ANOVA (P < 0.05). Results: From neonates to the old adults, the length, width and height of the whole AGC brain increased respectively from 53.27 ± 0.04 mm to 64.28 ± 0.04 mm; 22.19 ± 0.03 mm to 31.11 ± 0.04 mm; and 1.28 ± 0.08 mm to 2.19 ± 0.03 mm. The dimensions of the olfactory bulb undergo a phase of growth and decline. The length, width and height of the olfactory bulb increased respectively from 7.23 ± 0.02 mm to 11.47 ± 0.02 mm; 0.23 ± 0.01 mm to 0.29 ± 0.02 mm and 0.16 ± 0.02 mm to 0.39 ± 0.03 mm. For the cerebellum, the dimensions increased from 16.56 ± 0.03 mm to 21.93 ± 0.05 mm for the length between 6 days of birth and 5 years, from 16.26 ± 0.03 mm to 25.22 ± 0.06 mm for the width between 6 days of birth and 4 years and 0.57 ± 0.03 mm to 1.04 ± 0.02 mm for the height between 6 days of birth and 2 years. Decreases were slight in older subjects. Conclusions: The current study concludes that the size of the whole brain, cerebellum and olfactory bulb varies with age and that brain maturation occurs between young and middle adults.
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