Crows Decide Random-Dot Motion Task in 235 ms, Roughly Twice as Fast as Monkeys

2.3 · 8d ago · WORLD · TECH

The Facts

  • University of Tübingen neurobiologist Andreas Nieder and colleague Philipp Schmidbauer tested two hand-raised carrion crows on the random-dot-motion task long used with monkeys. Ars Technica only
  • Crows averaged 235 milliseconds from dot onset to the start of the head turn to peck; monkeys in three closely matched studies took roughly 410, 490 and 600 ms. Ars Technica only
  • Both crows scored above chance even when only 3 percent of dots moved coherently; the tested range ran from 81 percent down to 3 percent, plus a 0 percent condition with no correct answer. Ars Technica only
  • Crow reaction times ranged from 220 ms on the easiest trials to 254 ms on the hardest, a 34 ms difference. Ars Technica only
  • Researchers recorded 248 neurons in the nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL), considered the functional counterpart of the primate prefrontal cortex; 58 of them fired differently depending on the bird's eventual choice. Ars Technica only
Dive deeper · 3 more factsShow less
  • These choice-selective neurons registered the decision about 70 ms after dots appeared and roughly 170 ms before the head moved. Ars Technica only
  • Nieder said the crows were as accurate as monkeys or humans and set their own pace; he said the birds are not trading accuracy for speed. Ars Technica only
  • Crows pecked a target to report direction and were rewarded with a mealworm for correct answers; monkeys in earlier studies responded with eye movements. Ars Technica only

Context

A study led by Andreas Nieder at the University of Tübingen examined how a bird brain, which lacks a neocortex, makes perceptual decisions. Two carrion crows performed the same random-dot-motion task used in primate research while neural activity was recorded in the NCL.

The crows' neurons showed activity consistent with evidence accumulation, as seen in monkey neocortex, but the decisions were reached about twice as fast. Birds and mammals diverged evolutionarily more than 360 million years ago, and bird brains use clustered rather than layered neural organization. The source text was truncated, so further findings are not included.

How the Agent Panel Scored This

Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 1.

3 News Editor This is a niche neuroscience study on two crows reporting a lab finding about decision speed, with limited immediate impact on most readers despite its scientific interest.
2 Informed Citizen This is a niche neuroscience study on two crows' decision speed, with no immediate practical impact on ordinary people and limited relevance beyond specialist research.
2 Business Analyst This is a basic neuroscience research finding about crow decision-making speed in a lab study with two birds, with no market, economic, or broad societal impact.

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