Evolution of the avian brain and intelligence

Emery, Nathan J.; Clayton, Nicola S.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2005.11.029

Cited by 103 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…For example, sexual dimorphism and relative testes size could be related to the mating system (Clutton-Brock & Harvey 1977;Harcourt et al 1981). More recently, comparative analyses were used to determine likely factors selecting for large brains in primates but also in other clades (Barton & Dunbar 1997;Deaner et al 2005;Emery & Clayton 2005;Shultz & Dunbar 2010;van Schaik et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in Diet Between Six Neighbouring Groups of Vervet Monkeys

Tournier

Waal

et al. 2014

Ethology

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The comparative approach provides a powerful tool to study evolutionary questions on both intra-and interspecific variation. It has been applied to a great variety of taxa, including primates. Primate studies differ from those on most other taxa in two ways: first, data from most study sites contain information about only one group. Second, primatologists have used the comparative approach also to identify local traditions, that is, behaviours that spread through social learning. Here, we evaluate the appropriateness of such data by comparing the diet composition of six neighbouring groups of vervet monkeys, Cercopithecus aethiops. We used scan samples to collect diet data, and abundance measures and phenology to assess the availability of the 14 most important tree species utilised during the study. We calculated indices of diet overlap, which were highly variable and could be remarkably low. Furthermore, we found significant differences between group diets with respect to the relative utilisation of 13 of the 14 tree species. For all 13 species, we found positive correlations between local abundance and appearance in the diet, consistent with the importance of local ecology for diet composition. Nevertheless, more detailed comparisons of pairs of groups often revealed significant mismatches between the relative importance of a tree species and its local abundance. In conclusion, local variation merits increased attention by primatologists. While our results are compatible with the possibility that traditions exist on a local (group) rather than population scale, alternative explanations have to be considered.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in Diet Between Six Neighbouring Groups of Vervet Monkeys

Tournier

Waal

et al. 2014

Ethology

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“…Newer findings, however, strongly refute the model of a triune brain, especially the concept of a later developing neocortex ( Fig. 1) (42). As it turns out, a precursor of the neocortex was actually present in the earliest evolving vertebrates, a claim based on some aspects of connectivity and homology of early transcription factor expression (44).…”

Section: Top-down and Bottom-up Approaches To Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…This conceptualization of brain evolution occurring in stages during which more "advanced" brains-along with their expanded behavioral repertoire-were built on the structure of earlier forms was popularized by Maclean as "the triune brain" (41). Importantly, this view of brain evolution is now largely considered erroneous (42,43). It did offer an easy conceptualization for relating brain structure with function and suggested evolutionary time points for when various behaviors would have emerged.…”

Section: Top-down and Bottom-up Approaches To Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The basic structural pattern of a brainstem, midbrain, and forebrain did not need to be completely reinvented as each new species emerged. Rather, as various ecological niches were exploited by various creatures, those brain regions best suited for enhancing survival in the local environment were emphasized for further development (42).…”

Section: Top-down and Bottom-up Approaches To Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution of consciousness: Phylogeny, ontogeny, and emergence from general anesthesia

Mashour

Alkire

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

112

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Are animals conscious? If so, when did consciousness evolve? We address these long-standing and essential questions using a modern neuroscientific approach that draws on diverse fields such as consciousness studies, evolutionary neurobiology, animal psychology, and anesthesiology. We propose that the stepwise emergence from general anesthesia can serve as a reproducible model to study the evolution of consciousness across various species and use current data from anesthesiology to shed light on the phylogeny of consciousness. Ultimately, we conclude that the neurobiological structure of the vertebrate central nervous system is evolutionarily ancient and highly conserved across species and that the basic neurophysiologic mechanisms supporting consciousness in humans are found at the earliest points of vertebrate brain evolution. Thus, in agreement with Darwin's insight and the recent "Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness in Non-Human Animals," a review of modern scientific data suggests that the differences between species in terms of the ability to experience the world is one of degree and not kind.

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“…[17][18][19]) suggests that complex cognition did not arise solely in the vertebrate clade-and thus, contra Gould, would not have gone un-actualized had Pikaia and its ilk been less fortunate. Similarly, certain bird and mammal clades, which share a common ancestor that lived over 300 million years ago in the Carboniferous, exhibit convergently enlarged brain structures [20] and a convergent cognitive tool kit that includes capacities such as causal reasoning, flexible problem solving and imagination [12,21,22]. Similar patterns of convergence can be seen at finer grains of taxonomic resolution, including between numerous mammalian lineages such as cetaceans, primates, elephants, and carnivores [23], indicating predictability and path-independency across shallower-though still quite substantial-replays of the tape of life.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%