Corvids like crows and ravens are social and intelligent birds who provide extended care for their young. Credit: Shutterstock
Large brains are a hallmark of human evolution. Brains allow us to make sense of the world and to successfully navigate through our lives.
Bigger brains are valuable because they provide increased flexibility to deal with everyday problems, allowing them to make better decisions, learn difficult skills and innovate solutions to challenging problems.
Large brains evolved in mammals and birds independently. The related increased intelligence provides an advantage to animals when it comes to their daily lives. For example, animals with larger brains are more likely to succeed in urban areas or when released in new habitats.
Brains require a continuous supply of energy, and thinking hard requires additional energy consumption. Thus, brains that are comparatively large in relation to body size are energetically costly to maintain.
Brain development is an energy-intensive process, posing a paradox for brain growth in young animals and birds: how can young animals fuel the growth of their large brains before they are skilled enough to obtain enough calories?
Maybe their parents pay for it, as is the case for our species, where parents work to support children’s growth and development.
2023-03-22 12:00:04
Article from phys.org