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A neuronal correlate for time interval estimation in the crow’s telencephalon

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  • Melissa Johnston

    (University of Tübingen)

  • Maximilian E. Kirschhock

    (University of Tübingen)

  • Andreas Nieder

    (University of Tübingen)

Abstract

Interval timing, the ability to perceive and estimate durations between events, is essential for many animal behaviors. In mammals, it is linked to specific cortical and sub-cortical brain regions, but its neural basis in birds remains unclear. We trained two male carrion crows on a time estimation task using visual stimuli, cueing them to wait for a minimum duration of 1500 ms, 3000 ms, or 6000 ms before responding to receive a reward. During the task, we recorded activity from single neurons in the nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL), the avian executive telencephalon. Many neurons showed tuning to specific durations, suggesting that time intervals are encoded as abstract magnitudes along an ordered scale. Population-level decoding revealed that NCL activity predicted the crows’ intended wait time, independent of the sensory properties of the cues. These findings show that abstract time estimation can emerge from neural architectures different from the mammalian neocortex.

Suggested Citation

  • Melissa Johnston & Maximilian E. Kirschhock & Andreas Nieder, 2025. "A neuronal correlate for time interval estimation in the crow’s telencephalon," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-63820-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63820-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jorge Gámez & Germán Mendoza & Luis Prado & Abraham Betancourt & Hugo Merchant, 2019. "The amplitude in periodic neural state trajectories underlies the tempo of rhythmic tapping," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(4), pages 1-32, April.
    2. Nicola S. Clayton & Anthony Dickinson, 1998. "Episodic-like memory during cache recovery by scrub jays," Nature, Nature, vol. 395(6699), pages 272-274, September.
    3. Lena Veit & Andreas Nieder, 2013. "Abstract rule neurons in the endbrain support intelligent behaviour in corvid songbirds," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Shanglin Zhou & Sotiris C Masmanidis & Dean V Buonomano, 2022. "Encoding time in neural dynamic regimes with distinct computational tradeoffs," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(3), pages 1-29, March.
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