Neuroscientists Discover Secret To Intelligence In Parrots

According to a new study, University of Alberta Neuroscientists have identified a neural circuit that can help to underlay intelligence in birds. The discovery is an example of how the brains of birds and primates have evolved over time. The study has a huge potential to provide insights into the neural basis of human intelligence.

 Pontine nuclei is the part of the brain that transfers information between cortex and cerebellum. This loop plays a major role in higher order processing and more sophisticated behavior. The pontine nuclei is large in humans and primates as compared to other mammals. Birds have a structure similar to pontine nuclei called the spiriform nucleus (SpM). SpM has the same function of transferring information between cortex and cerebellum.

 In the study, scientists studies samples of bird brains from 98 birds around the world. He compared the relative size of SpM in the birds as compared to the rest of the brain. They discovered that parrots have a SpM that is larger than most of the birds.

 After uncovering this, scientists have been hoping to study the SpM in parrots much more deeply to understand the types of information that their brains can process and what kind of information goes in there. It can give us a understanding of how our human brains work and study how our similar, pontine-based process occurs in humans.

By: Neha Maheshwari

Content: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180703131208.htm