Evolutionary convergence of sensory circuits in the pallium of amniotes

<p>Despite vast diversity in behavior and cognition across the tree of life, there is surprising similarity in brain structures and even gene expression across amniotes, the largest group of vertebrates that includes reptiles, birds, and mammals. Three papers in this issue explore the development and evolution of the brain telencephalon across this group (also see the Perspective by Gattoni and Tosches). Rueda-Alana <em>et al</em>. integrated transcriptional analysis at single-cell resolution and mathematical modeling to investigate the development of sensory circuits in chicken, gecko, and mouse. Zaremba <em>et al</em>. generated a spatially resolved cell atlas in chicken pallium and compared it with mouse, two lizards, and turtle to interrogate the conservation of cell states. Hecker <em>et al</em>. developed deep learning models to identify shared and divergent regulatory signatures across telencephalon cell types in chicken, human, and mouse. </p>