19. Nov 2024

Convergent Minds and the Evolution of Complex Cognition

Datum: 19. November 2024 | 11:30 – 12:30
Sprecher: Onur Güntürkün, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Veranstaltungsort: Raiffeisen Lecture Hall
Sprache: Englisch

Abstract:

Great apes like chimpanzees are smart and have a large neocortex. In comparison, birds like corvids and parrots have much smaller brains and no neocortex. This should cast a dim prospect on their cognitive abilities. But studies of the last two decades revealed that there is not a single cognitive ability of chimpanzees (brain weight 400g) that was not also demonstrated in corvids and parrots (brain weights 5-25g). How is that possible? This question keeps me awake because it challenges core assumptions of the neural fundaments of complex cognition. I guess, I must travel back into the beginnings of terrestrial vertebrate evolution to find answers. This talk is about this journey.