Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada.
Rockefeller University Field Research Center, 495 Tyrrel Road, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA.
Sci Adv. 2018 Mar 14;4(3):eaao6369. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aao6369. eCollection 2018 Mar.
Problem solving and innovation are key components of intelligence. We compare wild-caught individuals from two species that are close relatives of Darwin's finches, the innovative , and its most closely related species in Barbados, the conservative . We found an all-or-none difference in the problem-solving capacity of the two species. Brain RNA sequencing analyses revealed interspecific differences in genes related to neuronal and synaptic plasticity in the intrapallial neural populations (mesopallium and nidopallium), especially in the nidopallium caudolaterale, a structure functionally analogous to the mammalian prefrontal cortex. At a finer scale, we discovered robust differences in glutamate receptor expression between the species. In particular, the GRIN2B/GRIN2A ratio, known to correlate with synaptic plasticity, was higher in the innovative . These findings suggest that divergence in avian intelligence is associated with similar neuronal mechanisms to that of mammals, including humans.
问题解决和创新是智力的关键组成部分。我们比较了两种接近达尔文雀的野生个体，即具有创新性的物种及其在巴巴多斯的最密切相关的物种，即保守性的物种。我们发现这两个物种在解决问题的能力上存在全有或全无的差异。脑 RNA 测序分析显示，在脑内神经群体（中脑和神经嵴）中，与神经元和突触可塑性相关的基因存在种间差异，特别是在 nidopallium caudolaterale 中，这一结构在功能上类似于哺乳动物的前额叶皮层。在更精细的尺度上，我们发现两种物种之间的谷氨酸受体表达存在明显差异。特别是，与突触可塑性相关的 GRIN2B/GRIN2A 比值在创新性的物种中更高。这些发现表明，鸟类智力的差异与哺乳动物（包括人类）的类似神经元机制有关。
