Memory in food-storing birds: from behaviour to brain.
As a result of natural history studies, it has been hypothesized that food-storing birds may develop a special kind of memory to cope with the demand imposed by their food-storing behaviour (i.e. the ability to retrieve food from a wide variety of stores over varying amounts of time after storage). Recent studies on food-storing birds suggest that, at a relatively late stage in their development, the specific memories associated with food-storing behaviour can stimulate growth of the hippocampus, an area of the brain concerned with memory processing.
Clayton
N S
NS
Department of Zoology, Oxford University, UK.
Krebs
J R
JR
D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*