Randall Boggs, the most despicable character in Monsters Inc. is known for his intelligence and disguise. This is one of the reasons I chose him as my character for this assignment. Because the size of his brain is unknown, it is not possible to tell what his encephalization quotient value would be. However, I presume it would be higher than that of the other monsters.
Randall’s intelligence would have to be due to a number of factors within his brain. I believe, if it were possible to examine the brain, its cerebral cortex would resemble that of a humans’. It would be very large and wrinkled to allow for maximized surface area. His frontal cortex, for higher-level thinking would be much larger than your average monster.
As Randall must always be aware of his surroundings in order to stalk Sully and Mike, his olfactory bulbs and optic tectum must be highly evolved. He also must be able to blend into his surroundings using a highly intricate camouflage technique. This would involve an intensive series of synaptic connections within the brain to allow signals to be passed between brain and skin.
Randall must also be able to move efficiently and snake-like. To do this he must have well-evolved motor utilization skills. He stands in an upright position, but his head does not sit at much of an angle from his neck and front body. His brain stem would not be on the lower portion of the brain as it is in humans. It would be behind the brain like in a lizard’s or mouse’s brain.
Excellent point about the specialized brain to skin pathway. Cuttle fish apparently have a similar pathways that allows them to very rapidly change the pattern and texture of their skin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x-8v1mxpR0