Basil J A, Kamil A C, Balda R P, Fite K V
Department of Zoology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
Brain Behav Evol. 1996;47(3):156-64. doi: 10.1159/000113235.
The hippocampal complex (hippocampus and parahippocampalis) is known to play a role in spatial memory in birds and is known to be larger in food-storing versus non-storing birds. In the present study, we investigated the relative volume of the hippocampal complex in four food-storing corvids: gray-breasted jays (Aphelocoma ultramarina), scrub jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens), pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus), and Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana). The results show that Clark's nutcrackers have a larger hippocampal complex, relative to both body and total brain size, than the other three species. Clark's nutcrackers rely more extensively on stored food in the wild than the other three species. Clark's nutcrackers also perform better during cache recovery and operant tests of spatial memory than scrub jays. Thus, greater hippocampal volume is associated with better performance in laboratory tests of spatial memory and with stronger dependence on food stores in the wild.
已知海马复合体（海马体和海马旁回）在鸟类的空间记忆中发挥作用，并且已知在储存食物的鸟类与不储存食物的鸟类中，海马复合体更大。在本研究中，我们调查了四种储存食物的鸦科鸟类的海马复合体的相对体积：灰胸鸦（Aphelocoma ultramarina）、灌丛鸦（Aphelocoma coerulescens）、美洲松鸦（Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus）和克拉克星鸦（Nucifraga columbiana）。结果表明，相对于身体和全脑大小，克拉克星鸦的海马复合体比其他三个物种更大。在野外，克拉克星鸦比其他三个物种更广泛地依赖储存的食物。在空间记忆的缓存恢复和操作性测试中，克拉克星鸦的表现也比灌丛鸦更好。因此，在空间记忆的实验室测试中表现更好以及在野外对食物储存的更强依赖与更大的海马体体积相关。
