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Author Weisbecker, V.; Goswami, A.
Title (down) Brain size, life history, and metabolism at the marsupial/placental dichotomy Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Volume 107 Issue 37 Pages 16216-16221
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Abstract The evolution of mammalian brain size is directly linked with the evolution of the brain's unique structure and performance. Both maternal life history investment traits and basal metabolic rate (BMR) correlate with relative brain size, but current hypotheses regarding the details of these relationships are based largely on placental mammals. Using encephalization quotients, partial correlation analyses, and bivariate regressions relating brain size to maternal investment times and BMR, we provide a direct quantitative comparison of brain size evolution in marsupials and placentals, whose reproduction and metabolism differ extensively. Our results show that the misconception that marsupials are systematically smaller-brained than placentals is driven by the inclusion of one large-brained placental clade, Primates. Marsupial and placental brain size partial correlations differ in that marsupials lack a partial correlation of BMR with brain size. This contradicts hypotheses stating that the maintenance of relatively larger brains requires higher BMRs. We suggest that a positive BMR–brain size correlation is a placental trait related to the intimate physiological contact between mother and offspring during gestation. Marsupials instead achieve brain sizes comparable to placentals through extended lactation. Comparison with avian brain evolution suggests that placental brain size should be constrained due to placentals’ relative precociality, as has been hypothesized for precocial bird hatchlings. We propose that placentals circumvent this constraint because of their focus on gestation, as opposed to the marsupial emphasis on lactation. Marsupials represent a less constrained condition, demonstrating that hypotheses regarding placental brain size evolution cannot be generalized to all mammals.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5338
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Author Sol, D.; Duncan, R.P.; Blackburn, T.M.; Cassey, P.; Lefebvre, L.
Title (down) Big brains, enhanced cognition, and response of birds to novel environments Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Volume 102 Issue 15 Pages 5460-5465
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Abstract The widely held hypothesis that enlarged brains have evolved as an adaptation to cope with novel or altered environmental conditions lacks firm empirical support. Here, we test this hypothesis for a major animal group (birds) by examining whether large-brained species show higher survival than small-brained species when introduced to nonnative locations. Using a global database documenting the outcome of >600 introduction events, we confirm that avian species with larger brains, relative to their body mass, tend to be more successful at establishing themselves in novel environments. Moreover, we provide evidence that larger brains help birds respond to novel conditions by enhancing their innovation propensity rather than indirectly through noncognitive mechanisms. These findings provide strong evidence for the hypothesis that enlarged brains function, and hence may have evolved, to deal with changes in the environment.
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Notes 10.1073/pnas.0408145102 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4739
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Author Griffin, D.R.
Title (down) Animals know more than we used to think Type
Year 2001 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Volume 98 Issue 9 Pages 4833-4834
Keywords Animal Communication; Animals; Attention/physiology; Brain/physiology; Choice Behavior/physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Humans; Macaca mulatta/physiology/*psychology; Memory/*physiology; Optic Disk/physiology; Psychological Tests
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ISSN 0027-8424 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:11320232 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2823
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Author Hoy, R.
Title (down) Animal awareness: The (un)binding of multisensory cues in decision making by animals Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Volume 102 Issue 7 Pages 2267-2268
Keywords Animals; Anura/physiology; *Awareness; *Behavior, Animal; Decision Making; Female; Male; Perception; Sensation
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Address Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, 215 Mudd Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA. rrh3@cornell.edu
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ISSN 0027-8424 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:15703288 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2821
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Author Biegler, R.; McGregor, A.; Krebs, J.R.; Healy, S.D.
Title (down) A larger hippocampus is associated with longer-lasting spatial memory Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Volume 98 Issue 12 Pages 6941-6944
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Abstract Volumetric studies in a range of animals (London taxi-drivers, polygynous male voles, nest-parasitic female cowbirds, and a number of food-storing birds) have shown that the size of the hippocampus, a brain region essential to learning and memory, is correlated with tasks involving an extra demand for spatial learning and memory. In this paper, we report the quantitative advantage that food storers gain from such an enlargement. Coal tits () a food-storing species, performed better than great tits (), a nonstoring species, on a task that assessed memory persistence but not on a task that assessed memory resolution or on one that tested memory capacity. These results show that the advantage to the food-storing species associated with an enlarged hippocampus is one of memory persistence.
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Notes 10.1073/pnas.121034798 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4743
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