Counting without a cortex - Neuronal correlates of quantity representations in the corvid brain

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Andreas Nieder
• Subject Area: Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
• Term: from 2012 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 212142797

The last common ancestor of birds and mammals lived some 300 Mio years ago, at a time when the neocortex had not yet developed from the telencephalic pallium. Despite the consequential fundamental differences in their forebrain organization, corvids (jays, jackdaws, crows and ravens) show remarkably intelligent behaviors that rival even nonhuman primates. While the mammalian brain is intensively studied, the neuronal mechanisms of corvid cognition so far have never been addressed. With the current project proposal, we will establish the carrion crow (Corvus corone) as a new and promising model system for systems neuroscience. Rooted in the classical work of Otto Koehler who for the first time provided scientific evidence that corvids are endowed with superior skills in categorizing and conceptualizing numerical quantity, we will investigate the single-neuron basis of this cognitive ability in behaving crows. Using multiple-electrode techniques, we will simultaneously record neuronal activity from several areas of the nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL), an area known to be important for elaborate cognitive functioning in birds. This will allow us to pin down the substrates and coding schemes of abstract quantity representation in intelligent corvids. Comparing expected differences and commonalities to findings in nonhuman primates will help to decipher the general mechanisms of flexible behaviors beyond phylogenetically-specific brain structures and elucidate the evolutionary constraints for the design of highly cognitive vertebrate brains.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Major Instrumentation: Behavioral/electrophysiological setup
• Instrumentation Group: 3530 Bakterien- und Zell-Aufschlußgeräte (außer 104)