Cognitive functions are similar in birds and mammals. So, are therefore pallial cellular circuits and neuronal computations also alike? In search for answers, a group of Biopsychologists in Bochum moved in birds from pallial connectomes, to cortex-like sensory canonical circuits and connections, to forebrain micro-circuitries and finally to the avian “prefrontal” area.

Cognitive functions are similar in birds and mammals. So, are therefore pallial cellular circuits and neuronal computations also alike? In search for answers, a group of Biopsychologists in Bochum moved in birds from pallial connectomes, to cortex-like sensory canonical circuits and connections, to forebrain micro-circuitries and finally to the avian “prefrontal” area. This voyage from macro- to microscale networks and areas reveals that both birds and mammals evolved similar neural and computational properties in either convergent or parallel manner, based upon circuitries inherited from common ancestry. Thus, these two vertebrate classes evolved separately within 315 million years highly similar pallial architectures that produce comparable cognitive functions.

Güntürkün, O., von Eugen, K., Packheiser, J., Pusch, R. Avian pallial circuits and cognition - A comparison to mammals, Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2021, 71: 29-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2021.08.007