Onur Güntürkün is regarded as a pioneer of biologically based psychology. The aim of his work is to find out how perception, thought and action arise in the brain.
He is interested in diverse topics, such as motor learning, fear, risk-taking behavior and even kissing. In his research, Güntürkün combines psychological, biological and neuroanatomical aspects with concepts and findings from the comparative behavioral and neurosciences. Using magpies as an example, he was able to show that birds recognize themselves in the mirror and are therefore able to develop a kind of self-concept. This finding is astonishing because they lack the cerebral cortex in their brains. This is precisely what controls this ability in primates. Building on this finding, Güntürkün also succeeded in proving that the forebrain structures of birds and primates have converged in an evolutionary process. Despite their different structures, they converge in their neurobiological basis and their behavioral performance.