Birds show signs that they categorize temporary memories. It seems that birds organize information into specific categories.
Working Memory and Its Importance
Working memory is the place where we hold items for a short time – like a postal code we are searching for in one browser tab and typing in another. It can contain everything from numbers and words to images and concepts. However, these memories degrade quickly, and the capacity is limited – the more we try to remember, the more likely the brain is to remember everything incorrectly.
Magnetic Dynamics and Their Effect on Working Memory
Magnetic dynamics assist the brain in working memory by taking sensory inputs, such as color, and categorizing them. A specific shade of dark red, like “fire lily,” may fade from working memory quickly, and fewer details will remain over time, but it will still be stored as “red.” The details are lost first, but the general idea continues to be retained for a longer period.
Other Influences on Working Memory
In addition to time, other distractions can affect working memory and make it easier to distinguish “fire lily” from other reds. If a virtual client is browsing paint samples for “sandstone” (a gray-brown color) and “London fog” (a gray color) in addition to “fire lily,” remembering each color accurately will become more difficult due to the increased demands on working memory.
The Impact of Bias on Working Memory
Bias can also affect working memory and cause the brain to remember some shades of red more accurately than others, especially if the brain categorizes them all under “red.” This can happen when a client has a particular idea about the color red being warmer or cooler than “fire lily.” If they consider the color red to be slightly warmer than “fire lily,” they might think that the other warmer red is “fire lily.”
Bird Experiments and Working Memory
To determine if birds process stimuli using short-term memory with magnetic dynamics, researchers subjected two crows to a variety of tests requiring color recall. Each bird had to tap a white button to start the test. A color – the target color – was then displayed before a table containing 64 colors was shown. The crows had to look at this table and tap the color that had been previously shown to them. The correct answer would earn them their favorite reward, while close but not exact answers would yield other rewards.
While the birds performed well with just one color, their accuracy declined when researchers challenged them to remember more target colors from the table at once. They were more likely to choose colors that were close to the target colors but not exactly the same – possibly due to increased strain on short-term memory.
The Evolution of Magnetic Dynamics in Birds
It is still necessary to understand how and why birds evolved magnetic dynamics. Given the differences in vision between birds and humans, there may be differences in color perception that the research team could not account for. However, the same mechanisms for working memory that evolved in humans and other primates appear to have also evolved separately in birds. The “bird brain” should be seen as a compliment.
References: Communications Biology, 2023. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05442-5
About the Author
Elizabeth Rine is a being who writes. Her work has appeared on SYFY WIRE, Space.com, Live Science, Grunge, Den of Geek, and Forbidden Futures. She lurks outside New York City with her parrot, Lysat. When she is not writing, she is either shape-shifting, painting, or dressing up as an obscure character. Follow her on Threads and Instagram @quothravenrayne.
Source:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/12/some-bird-brains-can-remember-things-the-same-way-we-do/
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