Using ecological and transcriptomic data to investigate brain evolution and cognition: an experimental study using eurasian magpies

Abstract

Corvidae is one of the most studied birds families regarding behavioural and neurological complexity. Along with relatively big brains to body mass, high total number of neurons and neuronal density, they are parallel to great apes in behavioural complexity and neuron augmentation pattern. The Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis proposes that the adaptive value of brain size and function is to buffer individuals from environmental changes, allowing behavioural flexibility and innovation that would improve fitness. The abstraction made by this hypothesis is that differences in individual brain size or function can correlate with differences in individualsí cognitive abilities and ultimately fitness. We plan to explore the relationship between brain function and cognition by studying gene expression profiles in Eurasian magpies (Pica pica).We will take advantage of a long-term longitudinal study carried out in Granada (Southern Spain), in which reproduction, life history variables and cognitive abilities are being studied along the life of individuals. We intend to use brain tissue of a small subset of these individuals to perform transcriptomics analysis and picture gene expression in individuals with different behavioural phenotypes.