Convergent Circuit Computation for Categorization in the Brains of Primates and Songbirds

Categorization is crucial for behavioral flexibility because it enables animals to group stimuli into meaningful classes that can easily be generalized to new circumstances. A most abstract quantitative category is set size, the number of elements in a set. This review explores how categorical number representations are realized by the operations of excitatory and inhibitory neurons in associative telencephalic microcircuits in primates and songbirds. Despite the independent evolution of the primate prefrontal cortex and the avian nidopallium caudolaterale, the neuronal computations of these associative pallial circuits show surprising correspondence. Comparing cellular functions in distantly related taxa can inform about the evolutionary principles of circuit computations for cognition in distinctly but convergently realized brain structures.

Automated summary

Categorization is essential for behavioral flexibility as it allows animals to group stimuli into meaningful categories. This review examines how categorical number representations are achieved by excitatory and inhibitory neurons in telencephalic microcircuits in primates and songbirds. Despite the independent evolution of the prefrontal cortex in primates and the caudolateral nidopallium in birds, the neuronal computations in these circuits exhibit surprising similarities. Comparing cellular functions across distantly related species can provide insights into the evolutionary principles of cognitive circuit computations in brain structures that are independently but convergently realized.