The study wasn't about whether they had the ability to process the information but specifically how neural processing is conducted. For instance, in mammals, the hippocampus is responsible for spatial cognition, reptiles lack a hippocampus so an alternate system is required - in reptiles it is the medial cortex thats responsible for spatial cognition. In this instance mammals had developed a trait independent to the reptiles. The Hippocampus is not a cognitive trait inherited from a common ancestor, although mammalian ancestors would have likely relied on a structure like the medial cortex.
Also it's worth noting that modern reptiles and mammals have been evolving at the same rate, there has been ample time for changes to occur since the time of the common ancestor, no animal is more evolved than another and any cognitive feature is a result of the environment the animal lives in. E.g. an animal living in one type of environment with specific environmental pressures can not be expected to have the same cognitive processes as an animal living in a completely different environment with different demands placed upon it.
Regarding dinosaurs, in the abstract of the study they actually write "Our results indicate that structural and functional aspects of sensory processing have been likely conserved during the evolution of sauropsids." Meaning dinosaurs had likely inherited the original structuring of ancestral neurocircuitry, which seems to have been passed on to their descendants, the birds.
The response to music specifically is a completely independent matter and wasn't the concern of this study. As i've explained already, the ability to comprehend music is linked to development of complex communication systems. This doesn't indicate that the animal is more evolved but rather that they have been shaped by the need to communicate more efficiently as a consequence of relying on complex social living to survive. Living in less complex social group or solitary lifestyles are just as valid evolutionary pathways if the trait benefits survival in that particular environment.
I think the only way to possibly get a dinosaur is by reverse engineering a chicken as no genetic material exists beyond what's retained in the descendants of dinosaurs (birds). They've already located the dormant gene for teeth in chickens as well as successfully activated the genes for dinosaur leg development. I would love the opportunity to photograph a dinosaur lol, they were likely highly ornate and colourful animals.
Also it's worth noting that modern reptiles and mammals have been evolving at the same rate, there has been ample time for changes to occur since the time of the common ancestor, no animal is more evolved than another and any cognitive feature is a result of the environment the animal lives in. E.g. an animal living in one type of environment with specific environmental pressures can not be expected to have the same cognitive processes as an animal living in a completely different environment with different demands placed upon it.
Regarding dinosaurs, in the abstract of the study they actually write "Our results indicate that structural and functional aspects of sensory processing have been likely conserved during the evolution of sauropsids." Meaning dinosaurs had likely inherited the original structuring of ancestral neurocircuitry, which seems to have been passed on to their descendants, the birds.
The response to music specifically is a completely independent matter and wasn't the concern of this study. As i've explained already, the ability to comprehend music is linked to development of complex communication systems. This doesn't indicate that the animal is more evolved but rather that they have been shaped by the need to communicate more efficiently as a consequence of relying on complex social living to survive. Living in less complex social group or solitary lifestyles are just as valid evolutionary pathways if the trait benefits survival in that particular environment.
I think the only way to possibly get a dinosaur is by reverse engineering a chicken as no genetic material exists beyond what's retained in the descendants of dinosaurs (birds). They've already located the dormant gene for teeth in chickens as well as successfully activated the genes for dinosaur leg development. I would love the opportunity to photograph a dinosaur lol, they were likely highly ornate and colourful animals.
