Overview
- Researchers at the University of Tübingen trained two carrion crows on a random‑dot motion task and found the birds reported their visual-motion choices in about 235 milliseconds on average.
- During the task the team recorded 248 neurons in the nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL) and detected decision‑related firing as early as roughly 70 milliseconds after the stimulus.
- Neural activity rose toward a decision threshold and became predictive of the bird’s choice about 170 milliseconds before the crow tapped the screen to respond.
- The authors argue these results show primate‑like, circuit‑level decision computations can occur in a non‑cortical avian pallium, but the behavioural sample size of two birds makes the finding provisional until replicated.
- If confirmed across more individuals and species, the work could reshape comparative brain science by linking birds’ dense neuron packing and ecological demands like flight and rapid beak use to faster perceptual decisions.