Mammals with a neocortex, a part of the brain associated with higher cognitive functions, can recognize a shared feature between different objects. Anna Smirnova and her colleagues tested whether this ability is also present in crows, which do not have a neocortex, by first showing the crows a card with two same-sized circles and then letting them choose between a card with two same-sized squares and another with two different-sized squares. They found that the crows repeatedly chose the card with the same-sized squares over the other, suggesting that researchers should not assume that the ability to recognize a shared feature between different objects is necessarily dependent on having a neocortex.Choice D is the best answer. The experiment was to test whether crows could recognize a feature between different objects. The text claims that the crows repeatedly chose the card with the same-sized squares, indicating that they can recognize the feature between the two circles and two squares of the same size. Since they achieved this feat without a neocortex, the result would suggest that a neocortex is not necessary to demonstrate such an ability.
Choice A: The experiment in the text does not make distinctions between younger crows and older crows.
Choice B: This answer choice contradicts the finding in the text that crows without a neocortex successfully recognized a shared feature between different objects.
Choice C: The text does not establish varying difficulty levels for animals with a neocortex and animals without it.
✨ Expert's Tip ✨
Identify the aim of the experiment: to test whether crows without a neocortex have the same ability as mammals with a neocortex. Then, recognize the researchers’ finding that crows without a neocortex have the same ability as mammals with a neocortex.