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Güntürkün O, Pusch R, Rose J. Why birds are smart. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:197-209. [PMID: 38097447 PMCID: PMC10940863 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 11/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Many cognitive neuroscientists believe that both a large brain and an isocortex are crucial for complex cognition. Yet corvids and parrots possess non-cortical brains of just 1-25 g, and these birds exhibit cognitive abilities comparable with those of great apes such as chimpanzees, which have brains of about 400 g. This opinion explores how this cognitive equivalence is possible. We propose four features that may be required for complex cognition: a large number of associative pallial neurons, a prefrontal cortex (PFC)-like area, a dense dopaminergic innervation of association areas, and dynamic neurophysiological fundaments for working memory. These four neural features have convergently evolved and may therefore represent 'hard to replace' mechanisms enabling complex cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Onur Güntürkün
- Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany; Research Center One Health Ruhr, Research Alliance Ruhr, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Roland Pusch
- Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Jonas Rose
- Neural Basis of Learning, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
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De Roni P, Geraci A, Simion F, Regolin L. Sensitivity to the role of an animated agent from observed interactions in newborn chicks ( Gallus gallus). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:210020. [PMID: 37885990 PMCID: PMC10598414 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Few month old human infants are able to detect the social roles of artificial agents and consistently choose the object behaving as 'approacher' rather than 'repulser'. This preference has been considered evidence of a pre-linguistic and pre-cultural origin of the social mind. Similar preferences have not been described in other species, though comparative data could help clarify the nature of this phenomenon and its evolutionary origin. In this study, we investigated sensitivity to the social role of an artificial agent in domestic chicks. Birds offer an excellent model to study the evolutionary roots of cognitive abilities, since they separated from mammals over 300 Ma. Moreover, the investigation of newly hatched chicks allows control for previous experience. After being exposed to computer-presented animations depicting an interaction among two agents, chicks underwent a free choice test among those same objects. While no initial evidence of a clear preference emerged from the planned analysis, chicks in the experimental condition showed a preference for the 'approacher' when controlling for side bias, mirroring human infants behaviour. This suggests the existence of an early ability to discriminate agents from their interactions, independent from any social experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. De Roni
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padova, 35131 Padua, Italy
| | - A. Geraci
- Department of Social and Educational Sciences of the Mediterranean Area, University for Foreigners of Reggio Calabria, 89125 Reggio Calabria, Italy
| | - F. Simion
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padova, 35131 Padua, Italy
| | - L. Regolin
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padua, Italy
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Bonin L, Bshary R. In the absence of extensive initial training, cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus fail a transitive inference task. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0287402. [PMID: 37352163 PMCID: PMC10289426 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Transitive inference (TI) is a reasoning capacity that allows individuals to deduce unknown pair relationships from previous knowledge of other pair relationships. Its occurrence in a wide range of animals, including insects, has been linked to their ecological needs. Thus, TI should be absent in species that do not rely on such inferences in their natural lives. We hypothesized that the latter applies to the cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus and tested this with 19 individuals using a five-term series (A > B > C > D > E) experiment. Cleaners first learned to prefer a food-rewarding plate (+) over a non-rewarding plate (-) in four plate pairs that imply a hierarchy from plate A to plate E (A+B-, B+C-, C+D-, D+E-), with the learning order counterbalanced between subjects. We then tested for spontaneous preferences in the unknown pairs BD (transitive inference task) and AE (as a control for anchors), interspersed between trials involving a mix of all known adjacent pairs. The cleaners systematically preferred A over E and showed good performance for A+B- and D+E- trials. Conversely, cleaners did not prefer B over D. These results were unaffected by the reinforcement history, but the order of learning of the different pairs of plates had a main impact on the remembrance of the initial training pairs. Overall, cleaners performed randomly in B+C- and C+D- trials. Thus, a memory constraint may have prevented subjects from applying TI. Indeed, a parallel study on cleaner wrasse provided positive evidence for TI but was achieved following extensive training on the non-adjacent pairs which may have over-ridden the ecological relevance of the task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonore Bonin
- Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Biology Institute, Faculty of Science, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Redouan Bshary
- Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Biology Institute, Faculty of Science, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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Rubene D, Low M, Brodin A. Birds differentially prioritize visual and olfactory foraging cues depending on habitat of origin and sex. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:221336. [PMID: 36778952 PMCID: PMC9905992 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Animals interpret their environment by combining information from multiple senses. The relative usefulness of different senses may vary between species, habitats and sexes; yet, how multimodal stimuli are integrated and prioritized is unknown for most taxa. We experimentally assessed foraging preferences of great tits (Parus major) to test whether urban and forest individuals prioritize visual and olfactory cues differently during foraging. We trained 13 wild-caught birds to associate multimodal (colour + odour) cues with a food reward and assessed their foraging preferences in a cue-separation test. In this, the birds could choose between the multimodal training cue and its olfactory or visual components. Our results suggest that the birds did not perceive multimodal cues in an integrated way, as their response was not stronger than for unimodal cue components. Urban birds preferred olfactory cues, while forest birds preferred visual cues. Nevertheless, female birds preferred the multimodal cue, while males foraged more randomly with respect to which cue was present. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relative roles of vision and olfaction in bird foraging behaviour. Future work should focus on how habitat- and sex-specific sensory prioritization modifies bird foraging behaviour and foraging success in the context of urban adaptations across populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Rubene
- Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Matthew Low
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anders Brodin
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Matsushima T, Miura M, Patzke N, Toji N, Wada K, Ogura Y, Homma KJ, Sgadò P, Vallortigara G. Fetal blockade of nicotinic acetylcholine transmission causes autism-like impairment of biological motion preference in the neonatal chick. Cereb Cortex Commun 2022; 3:tgac041. [PMID: 37674673 PMCID: PMC10478028 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgac041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Revised: 10/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 09/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Several environmental chemicals are suspected risk factors for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including valproic acid (VPA) and pesticides acting on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), if administered during pregnancy. However, their target processes in fetal neuro-development are unknown. We report that the injection of VPA into the fetus impaired imprinting to an artificial object in neonatal chicks, while a predisposed preference for biological motion (BM) remained intact. Blockade of nAChRs acted oppositely, sparing imprinting and impairing BM preference. Beside ketamine and tubocurarine, significant effects of imidacloprid (a neonicotinoid insecticide) appeared at a dose ≤1 ppm. In accord with the behavioral dissociations, VPA enhanced histone acetylation in the primary cell culture of fetal telencephalon, whereas ketamine did not. VPA reduced the brain weight and the ratio of NeuN-positive cells (matured neurons) in the telencephalon of hatchlings, whereas ketamine/tubocurarine did not. Despite the distinct underlying mechanisms, both VPA and nAChR blockade similarly impaired imprinting to biological image composed of point-light animations. Furthermore, both impairments were abolished by postnatal bumetanide treatment, suggesting a common pathology underlying the social attachment malformation. Neurotransmission via nAChR is thus critical for the early social bond formation, which is hindered by ambient neonicotinoids through impaired visual predispositions for animate objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiya Matsushima
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Health Science University of Hokkaido, Tobetsu 061-0293, Japan
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto 38068, Italy
| | - Momoko Miura
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Health Science University of Hokkaido, Tobetsu 061-0293, Japan
| | - Nina Patzke
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
- Health and Medical University, Potsdam 14471, Germany
| | - Noriyuki Toji
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Kazuhiro Wada
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Yukiko Ogura
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8654, Japan
- Japan Science and Technology Agency, PRESTO, Kawaguchi 332-0012, Japan
| | - Koichi J Homma
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan
| | - Paola Sgadò
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto 38068, Italy
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