Bird’s Brain Reveals Amazing Intellectual Path

Although the brain structure is very different from that of mammals, some birds show cognitive abilities to compete with apes. Now, researchers at Heidelberg University map how these extraordinary abilities develop, challenging long-term assumptions about brain development and revealing unexpected similarities between bird and mammalian minds.

This pioneering study, published in science, uses cutting-edge single-cell technology to examine pallium pallium, a brain region responsible for learning, memory and complex thinking in birds and mammals. While the human brain has a folded cerebral cortex, the bird brain evolved completely different architectures to achieve similar cognitive feats.

“Our discovery challenges previous theory that proposes a simple one-to-one correspondence between birds and mammals based on its location,” explains Dr. Bastienne Zaremba of the Center for Molecular Biology at the University of Heidelberg, who participated in it. This study.

A research team led by Professor Henrik Kaessmann created a detailed map of cell types in the chicken brain and compared it with similar data from mice and reptiles. Their analysis shows a complex evolutionary mosaic, with some neural circuits almost remaining unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, while others undergo dramatic transformations.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the researchers found that neurons in the bird chamber had unexpected similarities with neurons deep in the neocortex of the mammalian neocortex, which are areas of the brain responsible for higher cognitive functions. This discovery challenges existing theories about how these brain regions develop.

The study also provides new lights for new lights that are heightened at the top, a unique brain structure found only in birds. Although scientists previously believed that the region corresponds directly to the neocortex of mammals, new research reveals more nuanced images. Some neurons show similarities, but others are fundamentally different.

Another interesting finding involves neurons in two distant regions of the bird’s brain, which exhibit significant similarity despite originating in different regions during embryonic development. Professor Kaessmann said: “We need to rethink the ultimate role of a neuron strictly determines its position in the embryonic brain.”

This study provides key insights on how nature can obtain similar cognitive outcomes through different evolutionary paths. Inhibitory neurons (cells that regulate brain activity) remain very similar across species, but excitatory neurons that deliver signals follow a more diverse evolutionary trajectory.

Some brain regions, such as hippocampus that deal with learning and memory, maintain strong similarity between species. However, other areas have undergone dramatic reorganizations while retaining their functional capabilities.

“To gain an understanding of brain evolution and the development of complex cognitive abilities in birds and mammals, it is crucial to take into account molecular data on the developmental process,” Kaessmann added.

The study, in collaboration with Dr. Fernando García-Moreno of the University of Basque University and researchers in Sweden, was supported by the European Research Council, the government of the Basque National Autonomous Community and the Swedish Research Council.

These discoveries open new avenues to understand how intelligence develops and suggest that nature may have more ways to build a refined brain than previously thought. For scientists studying animal cognition and brain development, the study provides a new framework for understanding how different species can obtain similar psychological abilities through different evolutionary paths.