Nov 19, 2024
Convergent Minds and the Evolution of Complex Cognition
Date: November 19, 2024 |
11:30 am –
12:30 pm
Speaker:
Onur Güntürkün, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Location: Raiffeisen Lecture Hall
Language:
English
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.
