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Itahara A, Kano F. Gaze tracking of large-billed crows (Corvus macrorhynchos) in a motion capture system. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb246514. [PMID: 38362616 PMCID: PMC11007591 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.246514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies often inferred the focus of a bird's attention from its head movements because it provides important clues about their perception and cognition. However, it remains challenging to do so accurately, as the details of how they orient their visual field toward the visual targets remain largely unclear. We thus examined visual field configurations and the visual field use of large-billed crows (Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler 1827). We used an established ophthalmoscopic reflex technique to identify the visual field configuration, including the binocular width and optical axes, as well as the degree of eye movement. A newly established motion capture system was then used to track the head movements of freely moving crows to examine how they oriented their reconstructed visual fields toward attention-getting objects. When visual targets were moving, the crows frequently used their binocular visual fields, particularly around the projection of the beak-tip. When the visual targets stopped moving, crows frequently used non-binocular visual fields, particularly around the regions where their optical axes were found. On such occasions, the crows slightly preferred the right eye. Overall, the visual field use of crows is clearly predictable. Thus, while the untracked eye movements could introduce some level of uncertainty (typically within 15 deg), we demonstrated the feasibility of inferring a crow's attentional focus by 3D tracking of their heads. Our system represents a promising initial step towards establishing gaze tracking methods for studying corvid behavior and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akihiro Itahara
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto 6068203, Japan
| | - Fumihiro Kano
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell 78315, Germany
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2
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Kano F, Naik H, Keskin G, Couzin ID, Nagy M. Head-tracking of freely-behaving pigeons in a motion-capture system reveals the selective use of visual field regions. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19113. [PMID: 36352049 PMCID: PMC9646700 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21931-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Using a motion-capture system and custom head-calibration methods, we reconstructed the head-centric view of freely behaving pigeons and examined how they orient their head when presented with various types of attention-getting objects at various relative locations. Pigeons predominantly employed their retinal specializations to view a visual target, namely their foveas projecting laterally (at an azimuth of ± 75°) into the horizon, and their visually-sensitive "red areas" projecting broadly into the lower-frontal visual field. Pigeons used their foveas to view any distant object while they used their red areas to view a nearby object on the ground (< 50 cm). Pigeons "fixated" a visual target with their foveas; the intervals between head-saccades were longer when the visual target was viewed by birds' foveas compared to when it was viewed by any other region. Furthermore, pigeons showed a weak preference to use their right eye to examine small objects distinctive in detailed features and their left eye to view threat-related or social stimuli. Despite the known difficulty in identifying where a bird is attending, we show that it is possible to estimate the visual attention of freely-behaving birds by tracking the projections of their retinal specializations in their visual field with cutting-edge methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fumihiro Kano
- grid.9811.10000 0001 0658 7699Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany ,grid.507516.00000 0004 7661 536XDepartment of Collective Behaviour, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Hemal Naik
- grid.507516.00000 0004 7661 536XDepartment of Collective Behaviour, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany ,grid.507516.00000 0004 7661 536XDepartment of Ecology of Animal Societies, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany ,grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XComputer Aided Medical Procedures, Teschnische Universiät Munchen, Munich, Germany ,grid.9811.10000 0001 0658 7699Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Göksel Keskin
- grid.5018.c0000 0001 2149 4407MTA-ELTE Lendület Collective Behaviour Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary ,grid.5591.80000 0001 2294 6276Department of Biological Physics, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Iain D. Couzin
- grid.9811.10000 0001 0658 7699Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany ,grid.507516.00000 0004 7661 536XDepartment of Collective Behaviour, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany ,grid.9811.10000 0001 0658 7699Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Máté Nagy
- grid.507516.00000 0004 7661 536XDepartment of Collective Behaviour, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany ,grid.5018.c0000 0001 2149 4407MTA-ELTE Lendület Collective Behaviour Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary ,grid.5591.80000 0001 2294 6276Department of Biological Physics, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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3
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Ostheim J, Delius JAM, Delius JD. Eyelid squinting during food pecking in pigeons. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:jeb.223313. [PMID: 32341175 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.223313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The visual control of pecking by pigeons (Columba livia) has latterly been thought to be restricted to the fixation stops interrupting their downward head movements because these stops prevent interference by motion blur. Pigeons were also assumed to close their eyes during the final head thrust of the peck. Here, we re-examined their pecking motions using high-speed video recordings and supplementary provisions that permitted a three-dimensional spatial analysis of the movement, including measurement of pupil diameter and eyelid slit width. The results confirm that pigeons do not close their eyes completely during the presumed optically ballistic phase of pecking. Instead, their eyelids are narrowed to a slit. The width of this slit is sensitive to both the ambient illumination level and the visual background against which seed targets have to be detected and grasped. There is also evidence of some interaction between pupil diameter and eyelid slit width. We surmise that besides being an eye-protecting reflex, the partial covering of the pupil with the eyelids may increase the depth of focus, enabling pigeons to obtain sharp retinal images of peck target items at very close range and during the beak-gape 'handling' of food items and occasional grit particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joachim Ostheim
- Experimentelle Psychologie, Universität Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Julia A M Delius
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Juan D Delius
- Experimentelle Psychologie, Universität Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
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4
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Discrimination of movement and visual transfer abilities in cichlids (Pseudotropheus zebra). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2476-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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5
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Abstract
Navigation is an essential skill for many animals, and understanding how animal use environmental information, particularly visual information, to navigate has a long history in both ethology and psychology. In birds, the dominant approach for investigating navigation at small-scales comes from comparative psychology, which emphasizes the cognitive representations underpinning spatial memory. The majority of this work is based in the laboratory and it is unclear whether this context itself affects the information that birds learn and use when they search for a location. Data from hummingbirds suggests that birds in the wild might use visual information in quite a different manner. To reconcile these differences, here we propose a new approach to avian navigation, inspired by the sensory-driven study of navigation in insects. Using methods devised for studying the navigation of insects, it is possible to quantify the visual information available to navigating birds, and then to determine how this information influences those birds' navigation decisions. Focusing on four areas that we consider characteristic of the insect navigation perspective, we discuss how this approach has shone light on the information insects use to navigate, and assess the prospects of taking a similar approach with birds. Although birds and insects differ in many ways, there is nothing in the insect-inspired approach of the kind we describe that means these methods need be restricted to insects. On the contrary, adopting such an approach could provide a fresh perspective on the well-studied question of how birds navigate through a variety of environments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife, UK
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6
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Ünver E, Garland A, Tabrik S, Güntürkün O. Sneaking a peek: pigeons use peripheral vision (not mirrors) to find hidden food. Anim Cogn 2017; 20:677-688. [PMID: 28397005 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-017-1090-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2015] [Revised: 03/31/2017] [Accepted: 04/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A small number of species are capable of recognizing themselves in the mirror when tested with the mark-and-mirror test. This ability is often seen as evidence of self-recognition and possibly even self-awareness. Strangely, a number of species, for example monkeys, pigs and dogs, are unable to pass the mark test but can locate rewarding objects by using the reflective properties of a mirror. Thus, these species seem to understand how a visual reflection functions but cannot apply it to their own image. We tested this discrepancy in pigeons-a species that does not spontaneously pass the mark test. Indeed, we discovered that pigeons can successfully find a hidden food reward using only the reflection, suggesting that pigeons can also use and potentially understand the reflective properties of mirrors, even in the absence of self-recognition. However, tested under monocular conditions, the pigeons approached and attempted to walk through the mirror rather than approach the physical food, displaying similar behavior to patients with mirror agnosia. These findings clearly show that pigeons do not use the reflection of mirrors to locate reward, but actually see the food peripherally with their near-panoramic vision. A re-evaluation of our current understanding of mirror-mediated behavior might be necessary-especially taking more fully into account species differences in visual field. This study suggests that use of reflections in a mirrored surface as a tool may be less widespread than currently thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emre Ünver
- Faculty of Psychology, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Alexis Garland
- Faculty of Psychology, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sepideh Tabrik
- Faculty of Psychology, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Faculty of Psychology, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany.
- Wallenberg Research Centre at Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa.
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7
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Stensdotter AK, Dinhoff Pedersen M, Meisingset I, Vasseljen O, Stavdahl Ø. Mechanisms controlling human head stabilization during random rotational perturbations in the horizontal plane revisited. Physiol Rep 2016; 4:4/10/e12745. [PMID: 27225623 PMCID: PMC4886158 DOI: 10.14814/phy2.12745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2016] [Accepted: 03/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
This study repeats the experimental protocol for investigation of head stabilization in healthy humans, described by Keshner and Peterson (1995) but with a modification of the analysis. Head movements were considered with respect to the room instead of relative to the trunk. The aim was to investigate the approximate contribution of reflex and voluntary control across perturbing frequencies and conditions with modulation of visual information and mental attention and discuss the resulting outcome while comparing methods. Seventeen healthy individuals were asked to keep the head steady in space while subjected to pseudorandom rotational perturbations in the horizontal plane, firmly seated on an actuated chair. Both methods confirmed the results for gain in previous studies showing fair ability to keep the head steady in space below 1 Hz with vision. Compensation deteriorated when vision was removed and worsened further with addition of a mental task. Between 1 and 2 Hz, unity gain occurred between head and trunk movements, whereas above 2 Hz the head moved more than the trunk. For phase angles, the original method demonstrated a phase split occurring from ~1 Hz, a purely mathematical artifact that caused subjects with virtually identical movements to appear as significantly different. This artifact was eliminated by analyzing the head‐room relative to trunk‐room rather than head–trunk relative to trunk‐room angles, thus preventing potentially erroneous interpretations of the results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann-Katrin Stensdotter
- Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Physiotherapy, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU, Trondheim, Norway Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Morten Dinhoff Pedersen
- Department of Engineering Cybernetics, Faculty of Information Technology Mathematics and Electrical Engineering, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ingebrigt Meisingset
- Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ottar Vasseljen
- Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Øyvind Stavdahl
- Department of Engineering Cybernetics, Faculty of Information Technology Mathematics and Electrical Engineering, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
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8
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Abstract
Contact switches and touch screens are the state of the art for recording pigeons' pecking behavior. Recording other behavior, however, requires a different sensor for each behavior, and some behaviors cannot easily be recorded. We present a flexible and inexpensive image-based approach to detecting and counting pigeon behaviors that is based on the Kinect sensor from Microsoft. Although the system is as easy to set up and use as the standard approaches, it is more flexible because it can record behaviors in addition to key pecking. In this article, we show how both the fast, fine motion of key pecking and the gross body activity of feeding can be measured. Five pigeons were trained to peck at a lighted contact switch, a pigeon key, to obtain food reward. The timing of the pecks and the food reward signals were recorded in a log file using standard equipment. The Kinect-based system, called BehaviorWatch, also measured the pecking and feeding behavior and generated a different log file. For key pecking, BehaviorWatch had an average sensitivity of 95% and a precision of 91%, which were very similar to the pecking measurements from the standard equipment. For detecting feeding activity, BehaviorWatch had a sensitivity of 95% and a precision of 97%. These results allow us to demonstrate that an advantage of the Kinect-based approach is that it can also be reliably used to measure activity other than key pecking.
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9
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Theunissen LM, Reid T, Troje NF. Pigeons use distinct stop phases to control pecking. J Exp Biol 2016; 220:437-444. [PMID: 27885041 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.147850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2016] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Pecking at small targets requires accurate spatial coordination of the head. Goodale (1983a) suggested that planning of the peck happens during two distinct stop phases, but although this idea has now been around for a long time, the specific functional roles of these stop phases remain unsolved. Here, we investigated the characteristics of the two stop phases using high-speed motion capture and examined their functions with two experiments. In Experiment 1, we tested the hypothesis that the second stop phase is used to pre-program the final approach to a target and analyzed head movements while pigeons (Columba livia) pecked at targets of different size. Our results show that the duration of both stop phases significantly increased as stimulus size decreased. We also found significant positive correlations between stimulus size and the distances of the beaks to the stimulus during both stop phases. In Experiment 2, we used a two-alternative forced choice task with different levels of difficulty to test the hypothesis that the first stop phase is used to decide between targets. The results indicate that the characteristics of the stop phases do not change with an increasing difficulty between the two choices. Therefore, we conclude that the first stop phase is not exclusively used to decide upon a target to peck at, but also contributes to the function of the second stop phase, which is improving pecking accuracy and planning the final approach to the target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie M. Theunissen
- Queen's University Kingston, Department of Psychology, Biomotion Lab, 62 Arch Street, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
- Ulm University, Applied Cognitive Psychology, Albert-Einstein-Allee 43, Ulm, Germany
| | - Thomas Reid
- Queen's University Kingston, Department of Psychology, Biomotion Lab, 62 Arch Street, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Nikolaus F. Troje
- Queen's University Kingston, Department of Psychology, Biomotion Lab, 62 Arch Street, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
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Schluessel V, Kortekamp N, Cortes JAO, Klein A, Bleckmann H. Perception and discrimination of movement and biological motion patterns in fish. Anim Cogn 2015; 18:1077-91. [PMID: 25981056 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-015-0876-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2015] [Revised: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 05/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Vision is of primary importance for many fish species, as is the recognition of movement. With the exception of one study, assessing the influence of conspecific movement on shoaling behaviour, the perception of biological motion in fish had not been studied in a cognitive context. The aim of the present study was therefore to assess the discrimination abilities of two teleost species in regard to simple and complex movement patterns of dots and objects, including biological motion patterns using point and point-light displays (PDs and PLDs). In two-alternative forced-choice experiments, in which choosing the designated positive stimulus was food-reinforced, fish were first tested in their ability to distinguish the video of a stationary black dot on a light background from the video of a moving black dot presented at different frequencies and amplitudes. While all fish succeeded in learning the task, performance declined with decreases in either or both parameters. In subsequent tests, cichlids and damselfish distinguished successfully between the videos of two dots moving at different speeds and amplitudes, between two moving dot patterns (sinus vs. expiring sinus) and between animated videos of two moving organisms (trout vs. eel). Transfer tests following the training of the latter showed that fish were unable to identify the positive stimulus (trout) by means of its PD alone, thereby indicating that the ability of humans to spontaneously recognize an organism based on its biological motion may not be present in fish. All participating individuals successfully discriminated between two PDs and two PLDs after a short period of training, indicating that biological motions presented in form of PLDs are perceived and can be distinguished. Results were the same for the presentation of dark dots on a light background and light dots on a dark background.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Schluessel
- Institute of Zoology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Poppelsdorfer Schloss, Meckenheimer Allee 169, 53115, Bonn, Germany,
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11
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Function of head-bobbing behavior in diving little grebes. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2013; 199:703-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-013-0828-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2013] [Revised: 05/12/2013] [Accepted: 05/13/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Dominant vertical orientation processing without clustered maps: early visual brain dynamics imaged with voltage-sensitive dye in the pigeon visual Wulst. J Neurosci 2010; 30:6713-25. [PMID: 20463233 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4078-09.2010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The pigeon is a widely established behavioral model of visual cognition, but the processes along its most basic visual pathways remain mostly unexplored. Here, we report the neuronal population dynamics of the visual Wulst, an assumed homolog of the mammalian striate cortex, captured for the first time with voltage-sensitive dye imaging. Responses to drifting gratings were characterized by focal emergence of activity that spread extensively across the entire Wulst, followed by rapid adaptation that was most effective in the surround. Using additional electrophysiological recordings, we found cells that prefer a variety of orientations. However, analysis of the imaged spatiotemporal activation patterns revealed no clustered orientation map-like arrangements as typically found in the primary visual cortices of many mammalian species. Instead, the vertical orientation was overrepresented, both in terms of the imaged population signal, as well as the number of neurons preferring the vertical orientation. Such enhanced selectivity for the vertical orientation may result from horizontal motion vectors that trigger adaptation to the extensive flow field input during natural behavior. Our findings suggest that, although the avian visual Wulst is homologous to the primary visual cortex in terms of its gross anatomical connectivity and topology, its detailed operation and internal organization is still shaped according to specific input characteristics.
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