Work

Experimental Divergences in the Visual Cognition of Birds and Mammals

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: The comparative analysis of visual cognition across classes of animals yields important information regarding underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms involved with this foundational aspect of behavior. Birds, and pigeons specifically, have been an important source and model for this comparison, especially in relation to mammals. During these investigations, an extensive number of experiments have found divergent results in how pigeons and humans process visual information. Four areas of these divergences are collected, reviewed, and analyzed. We examine the potential contribution and limitations of experimental, spatial, and attentional factors in the interpretation of these findings and their implications for mechanisms of visual cognition in birds and mammals. Recommendations are made to help advance these comparisons in service of understanding the general principles by which different classes and species generate representations of the visual world.

Source: Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews

DOI: 10.3819/ccbr.2014.100004

Authors: Muhammad A. J. Qadri, Robert G. Cook

Institution: Tufts University

Language: English

Topic: Visual perception and processing mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: National Eye Institute

Award: Mechanisms of Avian Visual Perception, Cognition, and Action