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Cioccarelli S, Giunchi D, Pollonara E, Casini G, Bingman VP, Gagliardo A. GPS tracking technology and re-visiting the relationship between the avian visual Wulst and homing pigeon navigation. Behav Brain Res 2024; 465:114971. [PMID: 38552743 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024]
Abstract
Within their familiar areas homing pigeons rely on familiar visual landscape features and landmarks for homing. However, the neural basis of visual landmark-based navigation has been so far investigated mainly in relation to the role of the hippocampal formation. The avian visual Wulst is the telencephalic projection field of the thalamofugal pathway that has been suggested to be involved in processing lateral visual inputs that originate from the far visual field. The Wulst is therefore a good candidate for a neural structure participating in the visual control of familiar visual landmark-based navigation. We repeatedly released and tracked Wulst-lesioned and control homing pigeons from three sites about 10-15 km from the loft. Wulst lesions did not impair the ability of the pigeons to orient homeward during the first release from each of the three sites nor to localise the loft within the home area. In addition, Wulst-lesioned pigeons displayed unimpaired route fidelity acquisition to a repeated homing path compared to the intact birds. However, compared to control birds, Wulst-lesioned pigeons displayed persistent oscillatory flight patterns across releases, diminished attention to linear (leading lines) landscape features, such as roads and wood edges, and less direct flight paths within the home area. Differences and similarities between the effects of Wulst and hippocampal lesions suggest that although the visual Wulst does not seem to play a direct role in the memory representation of a landscape-landmark map, it does seem to participate in influencing the perceptual construction of such a map.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dimitri Giunchi
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa 56126, Italy
| | | | - Giovanni Casini
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa 56126, Italy
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA; J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA
| | - Anna Gagliardo
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa 56126, Italy.
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Bingman VP, Gagliardo A. A different perspective on avian hippocampus function: Visual-spatial perception. Learn Behav 2024; 52:60-68. [PMID: 37653225 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-023-00601-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
The behavioral and neural mechanisms that support spatial cognition have been an enduring interest of psychologists, and much of that enduring interest is attributable to the groundbreaking research of Ken Cheng. One manifestation of this interest, inspired by the idea of studying spatial cognition under natural field conditions, has been research carried out to understand the role of the avian hippocampal formation (HF) in supporting homing pigeon navigation. Emerging from that research has been the conclusion that the role of HF in homing pigeon navigation aligns well with the canonical narrative of a hippocampus important for spatial memory and the implementation of such memories to support navigation. However, recently an accumulation of disparate observations has prompted a rethinking of the avian HF as a structure also important in shaping visual-spatial perception or attention antecedent to any memory processing. In this perspective paper, we summarize field observations contrasting the behavior of intact and HF-lesioned homing pigeons from several studies, based primarily on GPS-recorded flight paths, that support a recharacterization of HF's functional profile to include visual-spatial perception. Although admittedly still speculative, we hope the offered perspective will motivate controlled, experimental-laboratory studies to further test the hypothesis of a HF important for visual-perceptual integration, or scene construction, of landscape elements in support of navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA.
- J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
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Applegate MC, Gutnichenko KS, Aronov D. Topography of inputs into the hippocampal formation of a food-caching bird. J Comp Neurol 2023; 531:1669-1688. [PMID: 37553864 PMCID: PMC10611445 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25533] [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: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
The mammalian hippocampal formation (HF) is organized into domains associated with different functions. These differences are driven in part by the pattern of input along the hippocampal long axis, such as visual input to the septal hippocampus and amygdalar input to the temporal hippocampus. HF is also organized along the transverse axis, with different patterns of neural activity in the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex. In some birds, a similar organization has been observed along both of these axes. However, it is not known what role inputs play in this organization. We used retrograde tracing to map inputs into HF of a food-caching bird, the black-capped chickadee. We first compared two locations along the transverse axis: the hippocampus and the dorsolateral hippocampal area (DL), which is analogous to the entorhinal cortex. We found that pallial regions predominantly targeted DL, while some subcortical regions like the lateral hypothalamus (LHy) preferentially targeted the hippocampus. We then examined the hippocampal long axis and found that almost all inputs were topographic along this direction. For example, the anterior hippocampus was preferentially innervated by thalamic regions, while the posterior hippocampus received more amygdalar input. Some of the topographies we found bear a resemblance to those described in the mammalian brain, revealing a remarkable anatomical similarity of phylogenetically distant animals. More generally, our work establishes the pattern of inputs to HF in chickadees. Some of these patterns may be unique to chickadees, laying the groundwork for studying the anatomical basis of these birds' exceptional hippocampal memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Dmitriy Aronov
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute Columbia University
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4
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Liao MR, Dillard MH, Hour JL, Barnett LA, Whitten JS, Valles AC, Heatley JJ, Anderson BA, Yorzinski JL. Reward history modulates visual attention in an avian model. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:1685-1695. [PMID: 37477741 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01811-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Attention can be biased towards previously reward-associated stimuli even when they are task-irrelevant and physically non-salient, although studies of reward-modulated attention have been largely limited to primate (including human and nonhuman) models. Birds have been shown to have the capacity to discriminate reward and spatial cues in a manner similar to primates, but whether reward history involuntarily affects their attention in the same way remains unclear. We adapted a spatial cueing paradigm with differential rewards to investigate how reward modulates the allocation of attention in peafowl (Pavo cristatus). The birds were required to locate and peck a target on a computer screen that was preceded by a high-value or low-value color cue that was uninformative with respect to the location of the upcoming target. All birds exhibited a validity effect (performance enhanced on valid compared to invalid cue), and an interaction effect between value and validity was evident at the group level, being particularly pronounced in the birds with the greatest amount of reward training. The time course of reward learning was conspicuously incremental, phenomenologically slower compared to primates. Our findings suggest a similar influence of reward history on attention across phylogeny despite a significant difference in neuroanatomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Ray Liao
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, 4235 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-4235, USA.
| | - Mason H Dillard
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - Jason L Hour
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - Lilia A Barnett
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - Jerry S Whitten
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - Amariani C Valles
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - J Jill Heatley
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - Brian A Anderson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, 4235 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-4235, USA
| | - Jessica L Yorzinski
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
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Applegate MC, Gutnichenko KS, Aronov D. Topography of inputs into the hippocampal formation of a food-caching bird. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.14.532572. [PMID: 36993579 PMCID: PMC10054989 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.14.532572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The mammalian hippocampal formation (HF) is organized into domains associated with different functions. These differences are driven in part by the pattern of input along the hippocampal long axis, such as visual input to the septal hippocampus and amygdalar input to temporal hippocampus. HF is also organized along the transverse axis, with different patterns of neural activity in the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex. In some birds, a similar organization has been observed along both of these axes. However, it is not known what role inputs play in this organization. We used retrograde tracing to map inputs into HF of a food-caching bird, the black-capped chickadee. We first compared two locations along the transverse axis: the hippocampus and the dorsolateral hippocampal area (DL), which is analogous to the entorhinal cortex. We found that pallial regions predominantly targeted DL, while some subcortical regions like the lateral hypothalamus (LHy) preferentially targeted the hippocampus. We then examined the hippocampal long axis and found that almost all inputs were topographic along this direction. For example, the anterior hippocampus was preferentially innervated by thalamic regions, while posterior hippocampus received more amygdalar input. Some of the topographies we found bear resemblance to those described in the mammalian brain, revealing a remarkable anatomical similarity of phylogenetically distant animals. More generally, our work establishes the pattern of inputs to HF in chickadees. Some of these patterns may be unique to chickadees, laying the groundwork for studying the anatomical basis of these birds ’ exceptional hippocampal memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Dmitriy Aronov
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University
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6
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Executive Functions in Birds. BIRDS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/birds3020013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Executive functions comprise of top-down cognitive processes that exert control over information processing, from acquiring information to issuing a behavioral response. These cognitive processes of inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility underpin complex cognitive skills, such as episodic memory and planning, which have been repeatedly investigated in several bird species in recent decades. Until recently, avian executive functions were studied in relatively few bird species but have gained traction in comparative cognitive research following MacLean and colleagues’ large-scale study from 2014. Therefore, in this review paper, the relevant previous findings are collected and organized to facilitate further investigations of these core cognitive processes in birds. This review can assist in integrating findings from avian and mammalian cognitive research and further the current understanding of executive functions’ significance and evolution.
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Anderson C, Johnston M, Marrs EJ, Porter B, Colombo M. Delay activity in the Wulst of pigeons (Columba livia) represents correlates of both sample and reward information. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2020; 171:107214. [PMID: 32205205 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The avian Wulst is the pallial (analogous to mammalian cortex) termination point of the thalamofugal pathway, one of two main visual pathways in birds, and is considered to be equivalent to primate striate cortex. We recorded neuronal activity from the Wulst in pigeons during two versions of a delayed matching-to-sample procedure. Two birds were trained on a common outcomes (CO) procedure, in which correct responses following both the skateboarder and the flower stimuli were associated with reward. Two other birds were trained on a differential outcomes (DO) procedure in which correct responses following only the skateboarder stimulus were associated with reward, while correct responses following the flower stimulus were not rewarded. In line with previous studies, under CO conditions, and for both excitatory and inhibitory neurons, delay activity in the Wulst was significantly different from baseline activity following both sample stimuli, which may indicate that Wulst delay activity is a neural correlate of working memory for the sample stimulus. On the other hand, under DO conditions, Wulst delay activity appeared to be a neural correlate of the upcoming reward. We argue that Wulst neurons display flexibility in their encoding in that they can encode both sample and reward information, but may default to one type of coding over the other based on the demands of the task. The current study provides the first evidence that delay activity in the Wulst represents both a neural correlate for sample information as well as reward information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catrona Anderson
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
| | - Melissa Johnston
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Ethan J Marrs
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Blake Porter
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Michael Colombo
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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8
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Stacho M, Ströckens F, Xiao Q, Güntürkün O. Functional organization of telencephalic visual association fields in pigeons. Behav Brain Res 2016; 303:93-102. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.01.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Revised: 01/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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Belekhova MG, Chudinova TV, Rio JP, Tostivint H, Vesselkin NP, Kenigfest NB. Distribution of calcium-binding proteins in the pigeon visual thalamic centers and related pretectal and mesencephalic nuclei. Phylogenetic and functional determinants. Brain Res 2016; 1631:165-93. [PMID: 26638835 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2015.11.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2015] [Revised: 11/19/2015] [Accepted: 11/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Multichannel processing of environmental information constitutes a fundamental basis of functioning of sensory systems in the vertebrate brain. Two distinct parallel visual systems - the tectofugal and thalamofugal exist in all amniotes. The vertebrate central nervous system contains high concentrations of intracellular calcium-binding proteins (CaBPrs) and each of them has a restricted expression pattern in different brain regions and specific neuronal subpopulations. This study aimed at describing the patterns of distribution of parvalbumin (PV) and calbindin (CB) in the visual thalamic and mesencephalic centers of the pigeon (Columba livia). We used a combination of immunohistochemistry and double labeling immunofluorescent technique. Structures studied included the thalamic relay centers involved in the tectofugal (nucleus rotundus, Rot) and thalamofugal (nucleus geniculatus lateralis, pars dorsalis, GLd) visual pathways as well as pretectal, mesencephalic, isthmic and thalamic structures inducing the driver and/or modulatory action to the visual processing. We showed that neither of these proteins was unique to the Rot or GLd. The Rot contained i) numerous PV-immunoreactive (ir) neurons and a dense neuropil, and ii) a few CB-ir neurons mostly located in the anterior dorsal part and associated with a light neuropil. These latter neurons partially overlapped with the former and some of them colocalized both proteins. The distinct subnuclei of the GLd were also characterized by different patterns of distribution of CaBPrs. Some (nucleus dorsolateralis anterior, pars magnocellularis, DLAmc; pars lateralis, DLL; pars rostrolateralis, DLAlr; nucleus lateralis anterior thalami, LA) contained both CB- and PV-ir neurons in different proportions with a predominance of the former in the DLAmc and DLL. The nucleus lateralis dorsalis of nuclei optici principalis thalami only contained PV-ir neurons and a neuropil similar to the interstitial pretectal/thalamic nuclei of the tectothalamic tract, nucleus pretectalis and thalamic reticular nucleus. The overlapping distribution of PV and CB immunoreactivity was typical for the pretectal nucleus lentiformis mesencephali and the nucleus ectomamillaris as well as for the visual isthmic nuclei. The findings are discussed in the light of the contributive role of the phylogenetic and functional factors determining the circuits׳ specificity of the different CaBPr types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margarita G Belekhova
- Laboratory of Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Interactions, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 44, Thorez Avenue, 194223 Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Tatiana V Chudinova
- Laboratory of Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Interactions, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 44, Thorez Avenue, 194223 Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Jean-Paul Rio
- CRICM UPMC/INSERM UMR_S975/CNRS UMR 7225, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, 47, Bd de l׳Hôpital, 75651 Paris Cedex 13, France.
| | - Hérve Tostivint
- CNRS UMR 7221, MNHN USM 0501, Département Régulations, Développement et Diversité Moléculaire du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 7, rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Nikolai P Vesselkin
- Laboratory of Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Interactions, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 44, Thorez Avenue, 194223 Saint-Petersburg, Russia; Department of Medicine, The State University of Saint-Petersburg, 7-9, Universitetskaya nab., 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Natalia B Kenigfest
- Laboratory of Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Interactions, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 44, Thorez Avenue, 194223 Saint-Petersburg, Russia; CNRS UMR 7221, MNHN USM 0501, Département Régulations, Développement et Diversité Moléculaire du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 7, rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France.
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O'Hara M, Huber L, Gajdon GK. The advantage of objects over images in discrimination and reversal learning by kea, Nestor notabilis.. Anim Behav 2015; 101:51-60. [PMID: 25745190 PMCID: PMC4344230 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2014] [Revised: 10/14/2014] [Accepted: 11/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Studies investigating the same paradigm but employing different methods are often directly compared in the literature. One such paradigm used to assess behavioural flexibility in animals is reversal learning. Commonly, these studies require individuals to learn the reward contingency of either solid objects presented on the ground or images presented on a touchscreen. Once learned, these contingencies are swapped. Researchers often refer to trials required to reach learning criteria from different studies, to compare the flexibility of different species, but rarely take methodological differences into account. A direct evaluation of the validity of such comparisons is lacking. To address this latent question, we confronted kea, an alpine parrot species of New Zealand and known for its behavioural flexibility, with a standard reversal learning paradigm on the touchscreen and a standard reversal learning paradigm with solid objects. The kea required significantly more trials to reach criterion in the acquisition and the reversal on the touchscreen. Also, the absolute increase in the number of trials required for the reversal was significantly greater on the touchscreen. This indicates that it is not valid to compare learning speed across studies that do not correspond in the addressed methodology. Taking into account the kea's ecology and explorative nature we discuss stimulus abstraction (limited depth cues and tactile stimulus feedback) and the spatial relation between reward and stimulus on the touchscreen as possible causes for decreased inhibition in this condition. Contrary to the absolute increase in number of trials required for the reversal, the increase in relation to the acquisition was greater with solid objects. This highlights the need for further research on the mechanisms involved causing methodology-dependent differences, some of which we discuss, in order to increase the validity of interpretations across studies and in respect to the subject's ecology. We provide a first direct comparison of two standard reversal learning approaches. Discrimination and reversal of solid objects seems easier than on the touchscreen. This highlights issues when comparing the same paradigm using different approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark O'Hara
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University Vienna, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Correspondence: M. O'Hara, Department of Cognitive Biology,University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Ludwig Huber
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University Vienna, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gyula Kopanny Gajdon
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University Vienna, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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11
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Srivastava UC, Gaur P. Naturally occurring neuronal plasticity in visual wulst of the Baya weaver, Ploceus philippinus (Linnaeus, 1766). Cell Tissue Res 2013; 352:445-67. [DOI: 10.1007/s00441-013-1579-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2012] [Accepted: 01/30/2013] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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12
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Mayer U, Watanabe S, Bischof HJ. Spatial memory and the avian hippocampus: Research in zebra finches. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 107:2-12. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jphysparis.2012.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2012] [Revised: 05/08/2012] [Accepted: 05/10/2012] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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Acharya KD, Veney SL. Characterization of the G-protein-coupled membrane-bound estrogen receptor GPR30 in the zebra finch brain reveals a sex difference in gene and protein expression. Dev Neurobiol 2012; 72:1433-46. [DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2011] [Revised: 10/17/2011] [Accepted: 12/13/2011] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Watanabe S, Mayer U, Bischof HJ. Visual Wulst analyses "where" and entopallium analyses "what" in the zebra finch visual system. Behav Brain Res 2011; 222:51-6. [PMID: 21435357 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2011] [Revised: 03/10/2011] [Accepted: 03/14/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Quite a lot of studies have tried to elucidate the differences in function of the two telencephalic targets of the avian visual system. We have tried to find out how the two systems are involved in orientation towards a food tray which is either marked by a special pattern or has to be identified by its relation to spatial cues. In this report, we compared in the zebra finch the effects of Wulst lesions on pattern discrimination with Wulst lesion effects on spatial discrimination, and we examined the effect of entopallium lesions on spatial discrimination. Birds with Wulst lesions showed deficits in spatial discrimination, but not in pattern discrimination. Entopallial lesions caused no deficits in spatial discrimination tasks. Combining the present results with a previous study revealing an impairment of pattern discrimination by such entopallial lesions [19], we are able to demonstrate a double dissociation: namely, an impairment of pattern discrimination by entopallial lesions and impairment of spatial discrimination by Wulst lesions, but no effects of the opposite pairing of task and lesion site. The entopallium is thus involved if the food source is identified by a pattern, and the Wulst if it has to be found by spatial cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeru Watanabe
- Department of Psychology, Keio University, Mita 2-25-45, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan.
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15
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Belekhova MG, Kenigfest NB, Chudinova TV. Activity of cytochrome oxidase in centers of tectofugal and thalamofugal tracts of the visual system of pigeon Columbia livia. J EVOL BIOCHEM PHYS+ 2011. [DOI: 10.1134/s0022093011010105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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16
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Manns M, Güntürkün O. Dual coding of visual asymmetries in the pigeon brain: the interaction of bottom-up and top-down systems. Exp Brain Res 2009; 199:323-32. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-009-1702-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2008] [Accepted: 01/02/2009] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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17
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Belekhova MG, Chudinova TV, Kenigfest NB, Krasnoshchekova EI. Level of metabolic activity (cytochrome oxidase) as an index of functional significance of tectofugal and thalamofugal channels of the reptilian visual system. J EVOL BIOCHEM PHYS+ 2007. [DOI: 10.1134/s0022093007010103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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18
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Imprinting modulates processing of visual information in the visual wulst of chicks. BMC Neurosci 2006; 7:75. [PMID: 17101060 PMCID: PMC1657023 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-7-75] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2006] [Accepted: 11/14/2006] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Imprinting behavior is one form of learning and memory in precocial birds. With the aim of elucidating of the neural basis for visual imprinting, we focused on visual information processing. Results A lesion in the visual wulst, which is similar functionally to the mammalian visual cortex, caused anterograde amnesia in visual imprinting behavior. Since the color of an object was one of the important cues for imprinting, we investigated color information processing in the visual wulst. Intrinsic optical signals from the visual wulst were detected in the early posthatch period and the peak regions of responses to red, green, and blue were spatially organized from the caudal to the nasal regions in dark-reared chicks. This spatial representation of color recognition showed plastic changes, and the response pattern along the antero-posterior axis of the visual wulst altered according to the color the chick was imprinted to. Conclusion These results indicate that the thalamofugal pathway is critical for learning the imprinting stimulus and that the visual wulst shows learning-related plasticity and may relay processed visual information to indicate the color of the imprint stimulus to the memory storage region, e.g., the intermediate medial mesopallium.
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19
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Watanabe S. Lesions in the basal ganglion and hippocampus on performance in a Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-like task in pigeons. Physiol Behav 2005; 85:324-32. [PMID: 15936047 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2004] [Revised: 04/14/2005] [Accepted: 04/25/2005] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies of LPO (lobus parolfactorium) and hippocampal lesions in pigeons suggest function of cognitive flexibility in LPO and memory consolidation in hippocampus [Watanabe S. Effects of hippocampal lesions on repeated acquisition of spatial discrimination in pigeons. Behav Brain Res 2001;120:59-66. ; Watanabe S. Effects of LPO lesions on repeated acquisition of spatial discrimination in pigeons. Brain Behav Evol 2002;58:333-342. ]. Here, a test similar to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test was applied to pigeons. The test consisted of four discriminations, namely red-green color discrimination and its reversal, left-right spatial discrimination and its reversal. In each trial stimuli were presented until the correct choice occurred. Ten successive correct trials without wrong response were defined as the criterion of discrimination. When the subjects reached the criterion in one discrimination, they were trained on one of three other discrimination tasks in the next session. These four discriminations were trained repeatedly in random sequence. After the birds have been well learned the WCST-like task, their hippocampus or lobus parolfactorium (LPO), the avian basal ganglion, was damaged. A sham lesion group received anesthesia only. Both lesions impaired the WCST-like test. Lesions of the LPO increased the number of errors, while the hippocampal lesions increased the number of trials to reach the criterion only. The number of errors reflects difficulty in finding the correct stimulus or cognitive flexibility, while the number of trials reflects difficulty in stable responding or memory consolidation. The present results suggest that LPO has the function of cognitive flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeru Watanabe
- Department of Psychology, Keio University, Mita 2-15-45, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan.
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Siqueira LO, Vieira AS, Ferrari EAM. Time-of-day variation in the sensitization of the acoustic response in pigeons. BIOL RHYTHM RES 2005. [DOI: 10.1080/09291010400028914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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