# University of Tübingen crow neurobiology study

> Developing situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/university-of-tbingen-crow-neurobiology-study
> Updated: 2026-10-29T06:45:47.000Z. Sources: 8. Developments: 2.

Researchers at the University of Tübingen have published findings in the journal Science regarding the visual decision-making speed of crows. The study, conducted by neurobiologists Andreas Nieder and Philipp Schmidbauer, demonstrates that crows can process visual information and identify the direction of moving patterns in approximately 235 milliseconds, a rate approximately twice as fast as primates and humans.

By monitoring neural activity in the nidopallium caudolaterale—an avian brain region comparable to the human prefrontal cortex—scientists observed that neural signals for different directions began to diverge just 70 milliseconds after a stimulus appeared. The research suggests that despite lacking a layered cerebral cortex, avian brain structures can utilize fundamental principles to achieve highly efficient cognitive functions.

## Timeline

### 2026-10-29: University of Tübingen researchers find crows make visual decisions twice as fast as humans

University of Tübingen researchers discovered that crows make visual decisions twice as fast as humans, with neural activity in their brains responding within 70 milliseconds of a stimulus.

3 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/university-of-tbingen-researchers-find-crows-make-visual-decisions-twice-as-fast-as-humans

### 2026-10-25: University of Tübingen study reveals crows make visual decisions twice as fast as primates

A University of Tübingen study shows crows make visual decisions twice as fast as humans and primates, using neural processes in the nidopallium caudolaterale similar to the primate prefrontal cortex.

5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/university-of-tbingen-researchers-reveal-rapid-visual-processing-in-crows

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Cite as: University of Tübingen crow neurobiology study. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/university-of-tbingen-crow-neurobiology-study