Hostname: page-component-7f64f4797f-g5lq8 Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2025-11-05T14:57:15.593Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

There is more diversity than unity within and between the three “cognitively complex lineages”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2025

Hans J. Markowitsch*
Affiliation:
Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany hjmarkowitsch@uni-bielefeld.de
Angelica Staniloiu
Affiliation:
Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany hjmarkowitsch@uni-bielefeld.de Oberbergklinik Hornberg, Hornberg, Germany astaniloiu@uni-bielefeld.de
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

It is argued that there are huge differences between species of the “advanced” three phyla, both cognitively and neurally, and that more sophisticated attributes than vision and motion characterize only a few of them, and these are mainly found in vertebrates. Especially with respect to learning and memory, only some vertebrate species may possess sophisticated memory processing abilities.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bingham, V. P. (1992). The importance of comparative studies and ecological validity for understanding hippocampal structure and cognitive function. Hippocampus, 2, 213220.Google Scholar
Collett, T. S., & Collett, M. (2002). Memory use in insect visual navigation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3, 542552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davies, J. R., & Clayton, N. S. (2024). Is episodic-like memory like episodic memory? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B379, 20230397. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0397 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dubnau, J., Grady, L., Kitamoto, T., & Tully, T. (2001). Disruption of neurotransmission in Drosophila mushroom body blocks retrieval but not acquisition of memory. Nature, 411, 476480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodos, W., & Campbell, C. B. G. (1969). Scala naturae: Why there is no theory in comparative psychology. Psychological Review, 76, 337350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, M. L., & Courage, M. L. (1993). On resolving the enigma of infantile amnesia. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 305326.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jozet-Alves, C., Schnell, A. K., & Clayton, N. S. (2023). Cephalopod learning and memory. Current Biology, 33, R1067R1105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Markowitsch, H. J., & Staniloiu, A. (2012). Amnesic disorders. Lancet, 380(9851), 14291440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Markowitsch, H. J., & Staniloiu, A. (2022). Behavioral, neurological and psychiatric frailty of autobiographical memory. WIREs Cognitive Science, 14, e1617. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1617.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGregor, P. K., & Avery, M. I. (1986). The unsung songs of great tits (Parus major): Learning neighbours’ songs for discrimination. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 18, 311316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menzel, R., & Müller, U. (2001). Learning from a fly’s memory. Nature, 411, 433434.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meusemann, K., von Reumont, B. M., Simon, S., Roeding, F., Strauss, S., Kück, P., Ebersberger, I., Walzl, M., Pass, G., Breuers, S., Achter, V., von Haeseler, A., Burmester, T., Hadrys, H., Wägele, J. W., & Misof, B. (2010). A phylogenomic approach to resolve the arthropod tree of life. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 27, 24512464.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mishkin, M., & Petri, H. L. (1984). Memories and habits: Some implications for the analysis of learning and retention. In Squire, L. R., & Butters, N. (Eds.), Neuropsychology of memory (pp. 287296). Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Shettleworth, S. J. (1993). Varieties of learning and memory in animals. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 19, 514.Google ScholarPubMed
Squire, L. R. (2004). Memory systems of the brain: A brief history and current perspective. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 82, 171177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tulving, E. (1972). Episodic and semantic memory. In Tulving, E., & Donaldson, W. (Eds.), Organization of memory (pp. 381403). Academic Press.Google Scholar
Tulving, E. (2005). Episodic memory and autonoesis: Uniquely human? In Terrace, H., & Metcalfe, J. (Eds.), The missing link in cognition: Evolution of self-knowing consciousness (pp. 356). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tulving, E., & Markowitsch, H. J. (1998). Episodic and declarative memory: Role of the hippocampus. Hippocampus, 8, 198204.3.0.CO;2-G>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed