title: Cognition without Cortex.
abstract: Assumptions on the neural basis of cognition usually focus on cortical mechanisms. Birds have no cortex, but recent studies in parrots and corvids show that their cognitive skills are on par with primates. These cognitive findings are accompanied by neurobiological discoveries that reveal avian and mammalian forebrains are homologous, and show similarities in connectivity and function down to the cellular level. But because birds have a large pallium, but no cortex, a specific cortical architecture cannot be a requirement for advanced cognitive skills. During the long parallel evolution of mammals and birds, several neural mechanisms for cognition and complex behaviors may have converged despite an overall forebrain organization that is otherwise vastly different.
authors.affiliation: Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: onur.guentuerkuen@ruhr-uni-bochum.de.
authors.forename: Onur
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Güntürkün
authors.affiliation: Department for Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bugnyar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001717:Birds; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans
keywords: birds; cognitive skills; evolution; pallium; prefrontal cortex