Integrating brain, behavior, and phylogeny to understand the evolution of sensory systems in birds

The comparative anatomy of sensory systems has played a major role in developing theories and principles central to evolutionary neuroscience. This includes the central tenet of many comparative studies, the principle of proper mass, which states that the size of a neural structure reflects its proc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in neuroscience 2015-08, Vol.9, p.281-281
Main Authors: Wylie, Douglas R, Gutiérrez-Ibáñez, Cristian, Iwaniuk, Andrew N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomy
Aves
Behavior
Birds
Brain
Brain architecture
brain-behaviour relationships
Evolution
Functional morphology
Genomics
Information processing
Isthmo-optic nucleus
Nervous system
Neurons
Neurosciences
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Principle of Proper Mass
prv
Psychology
Sensory evaluation
Sensory integration
Sensory systems
Sound Localization
wulst
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Summary:The comparative anatomy of sensory systems has played a major role in developing theories and principles central to evolutionary neuroscience. This includes the central tenet of many comparative studies, the principle of proper mass, which states that the size of a neural structure reflects its processing capacity. The size of structures within the sensory system is not, however, the only salient variable in sensory evolution. Further, the evolution of the brain and behavior are intimately tied to phylogenetic history, requiring studies to integrate neuroanatomy with behavior and phylogeny to gain a more holistic view of brain evolution. Birds have proven to be a useful group for these studies because of widespread interest in their phylogenetic relationships and a wealth of information on the functional organization of most of their sensory pathways. In this review, we examine the principle of proper mass in relation differences in the sensory capabilities among birds. We discuss how neuroanatomy, behavior, and phylogeny can be integrated to understand the evolution of sensory systems in birds providing evidence from visual, auditory, and somatosensory systems. We also consider the concept of a "trade-off," whereby one sensory system (or subpathway within a sensory system), may be expanded in size, at the expense of others, which are reduced in size.
ISSN:1662-4548
1662-453X
1662-453X
DOI:10.3389/fnins.2015.00281