Imagine a regular sequence of sounds: ba – ba – ba – ba- ba… And then think of an odd sound in between: ba – ba – ta – ba- ba… Neuroscientists will record a strange evoked potential from your auditory cortex as soon as you hear the “ta”. This potential is known as mismatch negativity (MMN) and it depends on the activation of NMDA-receptors. MMNs were recorded from the brains of humans, other primates and rodents and are seen as a cortex-specific neural component that guides attention switches to changes in the environment. Now, psychiatrists from Newcastle (Australia) and Biopsychologists from Bochum investigated if an MMN-like potential can also be recorded from the auditory-cortex equivalent forebrain structure in pigeons. Indeed, an MMN-like field potential was recorded and blocked with NMDA-receptor blocker. These results are suggestive of similar auditory sensory memory mechanisms in birds and mammals that are either homologue from a common ancestor 300 million years ago or resulted from convergent evolution.

Schall, U., Müller, B. W., Kärger, K., Güntürkün, Electrophysiological mismatch response recorded in awake pigeons from the avian functional equivalent of the primary auditory cortex, NeuroReport, 2015, 26: 239-244.