Comparative cognition is the comparative study of the mechanisms and origins of cognition

Cognition

In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...

 in various species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

.

From a biological point of view, work is being done on the brains of fruit flies

Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...

 that should yield techniques precise enough to allow an understanding of the workings of the human brain on a scale appreciative of individual groups of neurons rather than the more regional scale previously used. Similarly, gene activity in the human brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

 is better understood through examination of the brains of mice by the Seattle-based Allen Institute for Brain Science

Allen Institute for Brain Science

The Allen Institute for Brain Science is a Seattle-based nonprofit medical research organization that was launched in 2003 with a $100 million seed donation from philanthropist, founder and former Microsoft executive Paul Allen.-Overview:...

 (see link below), yielding the freely available Allen Brain Atlas

Allen Brain Atlas

The Allen Mouse Brain Atlas is a project within the Allen Institute for Brain Science which seeks to combine genomics with neuroanatomy by creating gene expression maps for the mouse brain. It was initiated in September 2003 with a $100 million donation from Paul G. Allen.The atlas went public in...

. This type of study is related to comparative cognition, but better classified as one of comparative genomics

Comparative genomics

Comparative genomics is the study of the relationship of genome structure and function across different biological species or strains. Comparative genomics is an attempt to take advantage of the information provided by the signatures of selection to understand the function and evolutionary...

. Increasing emphasis in psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

 and ethology

Ethology

Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a sub-topic of zoology....

 on the biological aspects of perception

Perception

Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...

 and behavior

Behavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...

 is bridging the gap between genomics

Genomics

Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...

 and behavioral analysis.

See also

• Cognitive science
  Cognitive science
  Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
  
  
• Animal cognition
  Animal cognition
  Animal cognition is the title given to the study of the mental capacities of non-human animals. It has developed out of comparative psychology, but has also been strongly influenced by the approach of ethology, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology...
  
  
• Animal communication
  Animal communication
  Animal communication is any behavior on the part of one animal that has an effect on the current or future behaviour of another animal. The study of animal communication, is sometimes called Zoosemiotics has played an important part in the...
  
  
• Evolutionary psychology
  Evolutionary psychology
  Evolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the functional...
  
  

External links

• Nature: Inside the Animal Mind
• Article on Empathy in Elephants
• APA article on Abstract Thinking in Baboons
• APA article on Short Term Memory in Honeybees
• University of Alberta's Comparative Cognition and Behavior Page
• Comparative Cognition Lab at Cambridge University
• The Comparative Cognition Society
• Allen Institute for Brain Science