In visual trials involving flashing dots, two carrion crows delivered correct responses in roughly 235 milliseconds, even when complex tasks featured poorly aligned visual markers. Lead researcher Andreas Nieder administered identical tests to humans in his laboratory, finding that none could match the crows' reaction rates. Electrodes placed in the birds' brains captured activity in the nidopallium caudolaterale, which mirrors the functional role of the primate prefrontal cortex. The study confirms that avian cognitive networks achieve rapid problem-solving without sacrificing decision-making accuracy.
Key points
Carrion crows can make complex visual decisions at twice the speed of both humans and rhe…: Carrion crows can make complex visual decisions at twice the speed of both humans and rhesus monkeys.
High decision speeds in crows do not diminish their accuracy, even during increasingly di…: High decision speeds in crows do not diminish their accuracy, even during increasingly difficult visual discrimination tests.
Brain activity during the experiments centered on the nidopallium caudolaterale, an avian…: Brain activity during the experiments centered on the nidopallium caudolaterale, an avian region functionally equivalent to the mammalian prefrontal cortex.
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‘Birdbrain’ Is a Misnomer. Crows Make Decisions Faster Than We Can
In a recent experiment, crows could process and respond to visual cues at twice the speed as humans and monkeys.
Lemmy and Iggy, two carrion crows, are no strangers to a psychology lab. As study participants, they have helped scientists prove that birds can use tools to forage, learn numbers and count objects, and provided other insights into the ways birds think.
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