The working memory is the brain’s ability to process information for a short period of time in a retrievable state. It is essential for performing complex cognitive tasks, such as thinking, planning, following instructions or solving problems. A team of researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has now succeeded in investigating this special area of memory in birds in more detail and in comparing it to data storage in the mammalian brain. The scientists found that birds and monkeys — despite their different brain architecture — share the same central mechanisms and limits of working memory.
The researchers from the Neural Basis of Learning department at RUB have published the results in the journal eLife on 3 December 2021.
Research on the bird brain complements existing models
The capacity of working memory is limited. Humans can only take in about four items of information…
