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Steinemer A, Simon A, Güntürkün O, Rook N. Parallel executive pallio-motor loops in the pigeon brain. J Comp Neurol 2024; 532:e25611. [PMID: 38625816 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024]
Abstract
A core component of the avian pallial cognitive network is the multimodal nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL) that is considered to be analogous to the mammalian prefrontal cortex (PFC). The NCL plays a key role in a multitude of executive tasks such as working memory, decision-making during navigation, and extinction learning in complex learning environments. Like the PFC, the NCL is positioned at the transition from ascending sensory to descending motor systems. For the latter, it sends descending premotor projections to the intermediate arcopallium (AI) and the medial striatum (MSt). To gain detailed insight into the organization of these projections, we conducted several retrograde and anterograde tracing experiments. First, we tested whether NCL neurons projecting to AI (NCLarco neurons) and MSt (NCLMSt neurons) are constituted by a single neuronal population with bifurcating neurons, or whether they form two distinct populations. Here, we found two distinct projection patterns to both target areas that were associated with different morphologies. Second, we revealed a weak topographic projection toward the medial and lateral striatum and a strong topographic projection toward AI with clearly distinguishable sensory termination fields. Third, we investigated the relationship between the descending NCL pathways to the arcopallium with those from the hyperpallium apicale, which harbors a second major descending pathway of the avian pallium. We embed our findings within a system of parallel pallio-motor loops that carry information from separate sensory modalities to different subpallial systems. Our results also provide insights into the evolution of the avian motor system from which, possibly, the song system has emerged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Steinemer
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Annika Simon
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Noemi Rook
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Pophof B, Henschenmacher B, Kattnig DR, Kuhne J, Vian A, Ziegelberger G. Biological Effects of Electric, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Fields from 0 to 100 MHz on Fauna and Flora: Workshop Report. HEALTH PHYSICS 2023; 124:39-52. [PMID: 36480584 PMCID: PMC9722389 DOI: 10.1097/hp.0000000000001624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
This report summarizes effects of anthropogenic electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields in the frequency range from 0 to 100 MHz on flora and fauna, as presented at an international workshop held on 5-7 November in 2019 in Munich, Germany. Such fields may originate from overhead powerlines, earth or sea cables, and from wireless charging systems. Animals and plants react differentially to anthropogenic fields; the mechanisms underlying these responses are still researched actively. Radical pairs and magnetite are discussed mechanisms of magnetoreception in insects, birds, and mammals. Moreover, several insects as well as marine species possess specialized electroreceptors, and behavioral reactions to anthropogenic fields have been reported. Plants react to experimental modifications of their magnetic environment by growth changes. Strong adverse effects of anthropogenic fields have not been described, but knowledge gaps were identified; further studies, aiming at the identification of the interaction mechanisms and the ecological consequences, are recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blanka Pophof
- Competence Centre for Electromagnetic Fields, Department of Effects and Risks of Ionizing and Non-Ionizing Radiation, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany
| | - Bernd Henschenmacher
- Competence Centre for Electromagnetic Fields, Department of Effects and Risks of Ionizing and Non-Ionizing Radiation, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany
| | - Daniel R. Kattnig
- Department of Physics and Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
| | - Jens Kuhne
- Competence Centre for Electromagnetic Fields, Department of Effects and Risks of Ionizing and Non-Ionizing Radiation, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany
| | - Alain Vian
- Univ Angers, Institut Agro, INRAE, IRHS, SFR QUASAV, F-49000 Angers, France
| | - Gunde Ziegelberger
- Competence Centre for Electromagnetic Fields, Department of Effects and Risks of Ionizing and Non-Ionizing Radiation, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany
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3
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Morphology, biochemistry and connectivity of Cluster N and the hippocampal formation in a migratory bird. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:2731-2749. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02566-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe exceptional navigational capabilities of migrating birds are based on the perception and integration of a variety of natural orientation cues. The “Wulst” in the forebrain of night-migratory songbirds contains a brain area named “Cluster N”, which is involved in processing directional navigational information derived from the Earth´s magnetic field. Cluster N is medially joined by the hippocampal formation, known to retrieve and utilise navigational information. To investigate the connectivity and neurochemical characteristics of Cluster N and the hippocampal formation of migratory birds, we performed morphological and histochemical analyses based on the expression of calbindin, calretinin, parvalbumin, glutamate receptor type 1 and early growth response protein-1 in the night-migratory Garden warbler (Sylvia borin) and mapped their mutual connections using neuronal tract tracing. The resulting expression patterns revealed regionally restricted neurochemical features, which mapped well onto the hippocampal and hyperpallial substructures known from other avian species. Magnetic field-induced neuronal activation covered caudal parts of the hyperpallium and the medially adjacent hippocampal dorsomedial/dorsolateral subdivisions. Neuronal tract tracings revealed connections between Cluster N and the hippocampal formation with the vast majority originating from the densocellular hyperpallium, either directly or indirectly via the area corticoidea dorsolateralis. Our data indicate that the densocellular hyperpallium could represent a central relay for the transmission of magnetic compass information to the hippocampal formation where it might be integrated with other navigational cues in night-migratory songbirds.
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Kobylkov D, Musielak I, Haase K, Rook N, von Eugen K, Dedek K, Güntürkün O, Mouritsen H, Heyers D. Morphology of the "prefrontal" nidopallium caudolaterale in the long-distance night-migratory Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). Neurosci Lett 2022; 789:136869. [PMID: 36100042 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136869] [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: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Migrating birds have developed remarkable navigational capabilities to successfully master biannual journeys between their breeding and wintering grounds. To reach their intended destination, they need to calculate navigational goals from a large variety of natural directional and positional cues to set a meaningful motor output command. One brain area, which has been associated with such executive functions, is the nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL), which, due to its striking similarities in terms of neurochemistry, connectivity and function, is considered analogous to the mammalian prefrontal cortex. To establish a baseline for further analyses elucidating the neuronal correlates underlying avian navigation, we performed quantitative and qualitative analyses of dopaminergic fibres in the brains of long-distance night-migratory Eurasian blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla). We identified four regions in the caudal telencephalon, each of which was characterized by its specific dopaminergic innervation pattern. At least three of them presumably constitute subareas of the NCL in Eurasian blackcaps and could thus be involved in integrating navigational input from different sensory systems. The observed heterogeneity and parcellation of the NCL subcompartments in this migratory species could be a consequence of the special demands related to navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry Kobylkov
- Center for Mind/Brain Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, TN, Italy; AG "Neurosensory Sciences", Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Isabelle Musielak
- AG "Neurosensory Sciences", Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Katrin Haase
- AG "Neurosensory Sciences", Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Noemi Rook
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany
| | - Kaya von Eugen
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany
| | - Karin Dedek
- AG "Neurosensory Sciences", Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Germany; Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany
| | - Henrik Mouritsen
- AG "Neurosensory Sciences", Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Germany; Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Dominik Heyers
- AG "Neurosensory Sciences", Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Germany; Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, Germany.
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Integration and evaluation of magnetic stimulation in physiology setups. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0271765. [PMID: 35867646 PMCID: PMC9307166 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A large number of behavioral experiments have demonstrated the existence of a magnetic sense in many animal species. Further, studies with immediate gene expression markers have identified putative brain regions involved in magnetic information processing. In contrast, very little is known about the physiology of the magnetic sense and how the magnetic field is neuronally encoded. In vivo electrophysiological studies reporting neuronal correlates of the magnetic sense either have turned out to be irreproducible for lack of appropriate artifact controls or still await independent replication. Thus far, the research field of magnetoreception has little exploited the power of ex vivo physiological studies, which hold great promise for enabling stringent controls. However, tight space constraints in a recording setup and the presence of magnetizable materials in setup components and microscope objectives make it demanding to generate well-defined magnetic stimuli at the location of the biological specimen. Here, we present a solution based on a miniature vector magnetometer, a coil driver, and a calibration routine for the coil system to compensate for magnetic distortions in the setup. The magnetometer fits in common physiology recording chambers and has a sufficiently small spatial integration area to allow for probing spatial inhomogeneities. The coil-driver allows for the generation of defined non-stationary fast changing magnetic stimuli. Our ex vivo multielectrode array recordings from avian retinal ganglion cells show that artifacts induced by rapid magnetic stimulus changes can mimic the waveform of biological spikes on single electrodes. However, induction artifacts can be separated clearly from biological responses if the spatio-temporal characteristics of the artifact on multiple electrodes is taken into account. We provide the complete hardware design data and software resources for the integrated magnetic stimulation system.
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Prussian blue technique is prone to yield false negative results in magnetoreception research. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8803. [PMID: 35614116 PMCID: PMC9132912 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12398-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Perls’s Prussian blue staining technique has been used in magnetoreception research to screen tissues for iron-rich structures as proxies for putative magnetoreceptor structures based on magnetic particles. However, seemingly promising structural candidates in the upper beak of birds detected with Prussian blue turned out to be either irreproducible or located in non-neuronal cells, which has spurred a controversy that has not been settled yet. Here we identify possible pitfalls in the previous works and apply the Prussian blue technique to tissues implicated in magnetic-particle-based magnetoreception, in an effort to reassess its suitability for staining single-domain magnetite, i.e., the proposed magnetic substrate for the interaction with the external magnetic field. In the upper beak of night-migratory songbirds, we found staining products in great numbers, but not remotely associated with fiber terminals of the traced ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve. Surprisingly, staining products were absent from the lamina propria in the olfactory rosette of rainbow trout where candidate magnetoreceptor structures were identified with different techniques earlier. Critically, magnetosome chains in whole cells of magnetotactic bacteria remained unstained. The failure to label single-domain magnetite in positive control samples is a serious limitation of the technique and suggests that two most influential but antipodal studies conducted previously stood little chances of obtaining correct positive results under the assumption that magnetosome-like particles were present in the tissues. Nonetheless, the staining technique appears suitable to identify tissue contamination with iron-rich fine dust trapped in epithelia already in vivo.
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Haase K, Musielak I, Warmuth-Moles L, Leberecht B, Zolotareva A, Mouritsen H, Heyers D. In Search for the Avian Trigeminal Magnetic Sensor: Distribution of Peripheral and Central Terminals of Ophthalmic Sensory Neurons in the Night-Migratory Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). Front Neuroanat 2022; 16:853401. [PMID: 35321391 PMCID: PMC8936129 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2022.853401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In night-migratory songbirds, neurobiological and behavioral evidence suggest the existence of a magnetic sense associated with the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (V1), possibly providing magnetic positional information. Curiously, neither the unequivocal existence, structural nature, nor the exact location of any sensory structure has been revealed to date. Here, we used neuronal tract tracing to map both the innervation fields in the upper beak and the detailed trigeminal brainstem terminations of the medial and lateral V1 subbranches in the night-migratory Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). The medial V1 subbranch takes its course along the ventral part of the upper beak to innervate subepidermal layers and the mucosa of the nasal cavity, whereas the lateral V1 subbranch runs along dorsolateral levels until the nostrils to innervate mainly the skin of the upper beak. In the trigeminal brainstem, medial V1 terminals innervate both the dorsal part and the ventral, magnetically activated part of the principal sensory trigeminal brainstem nuclei (PrV). In contrast, the lateral V1 subbranch innervates only a small part of the ventral PrV. The spinal sensory trigeminal brainstem nuclei (SpV) receive topographically ordered projections. The medial V1 subbranch mainly innervates rostral and medial parts of SpV, whereas the lateral V1 subbranch mainly innervates the lateral and caudal parts of SpV. The present findings could provide valuable information for further analysis of the trigeminal magnetic sense of birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrin Haase
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Isabelle Musielak
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Leonie Warmuth-Moles
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Bo Leberecht
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Anna Zolotareva
- Biological Station Rybachy, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Henrik Mouritsen
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Dominik Heyers
- AG Neurosensorik, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- *Correspondence: Dominik Heyers,
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8
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Bellinger MR, Wei J, Hartmann U, Cadiou H, Winklhofer M, Banks MA. Conservation of magnetite biomineralization genes in all domains of life and implications for magnetic sensing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2108655119. [PMID: 35012979 PMCID: PMC8784154 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2108655119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals use geomagnetic fields for navigational cues, yet the sensory mechanism underlying magnetic perception remains poorly understood. One idea is that geomagnetic fields are physically transduced by magnetite crystals contained inside specialized receptor cells, but evidence for intracellular, biogenic magnetite in eukaryotes is scant. Certain bacteria produce magnetite crystals inside intracellular compartments, representing the most ancient form of biomineralization known and having evolved prior to emergence of the crown group of eukaryotes, raising the question of whether magnetite biomineralization in eukaryotes and prokaryotes might share a common evolutionary history. Here, we discover that salmonid olfactory epithelium contains magnetite crystals arranged in compact clusters and determine that genes differentially expressed in magnetic olfactory cells, contrasted to nonmagnetic olfactory cells, share ancestry with an ancient prokaryote magnetite biomineralization system, consistent with exaptation for use in eukaryotic magnetoreception. We also show that 11 prokaryote biomineralization genes are universally present among a diverse set of eukaryote taxa and that nine of those genes are present within the Asgard clade of archaea Lokiarchaeota that affiliates with eukaryotes in phylogenomic analysis. Consistent with deep homology, we present an evolutionary genetics hypothesis for magnetite formation among eukaryotes to motivate convergent approaches for examining magnetite-based magnetoreception, molecular origins of matrix-associated biomineralization processes, and eukaryogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Renee Bellinger
- Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Department Fisheries and Wildlife, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR 97365;
| | - Jiandong Wei
- Experimental Physics Department, Saarland University, D-66041 Saarbruecken, Germany
| | - Uwe Hartmann
- Experimental Physics Department, Saarland University, D-66041 Saarbruecken, Germany
| | - Hervé Cadiou
- Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives (INCI), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UPR3212, F-67100 Strasbourg, France
| | - Michael Winklhofer
- Institute of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Oldenburg, D-26129 Oldenburg, Germany
- Research Center Neurosensory Science, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Michael A Banks
- Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Department Fisheries and Wildlife, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR 97365
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Schuhmann F, Kattnig DR, Solov'yov IA. Exploring Post-activation Conformational Changes in Pigeon Cryptochrome 4. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:9652-9659. [PMID: 34327996 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c02795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A widespread hypothesis ascribes the ability of migratory birds to navigate over large distances to an inclination compass realized by the protein cryptochrome in the birds' retinae. Cryptochromes are activated by blue light, which induces a radical pair state, the spin dynamics of which may become sensitive to earth's weak magnetic fields. The magnetic information is encoded and passed on to downstream processes by structural rearrangements of the protein, the details of which remain vague. We utilize extensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to probe the conformational changes of pigeon cryptochrome 4 upon light activation. The structural dynamics are analyzed based on principal component analysis and with the help of distance matrices, which reveal significant changes in selected inter-residue distances. The results are evaluated and discussed with reference to the protein structure and its putative function as a magnetoreceptor. It is suggested that the phosphate-binding loop could act as a gate controlling the access to the flavin adenine dinucleotide cofactor depending on the redox state of the protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Schuhmann
- Department of Physics, Carl von Ossietzky Universät Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky Str. 9-11, Oldenburg 26129, Germany
| | - Daniel R Kattnig
- Living Systems Institute and Department of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Rd., Exeter EX4 4QD, U.K
| | - Ilia A Solov'yov
- Department of Physics, Carl von Ossietzky Universät Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky Str. 9-11, Oldenburg 26129, Germany
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10
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Astakhova LA, Rotov AY, Cherbunin RV, Goriachenkov AA, Kavokin KV, Firsov ML, Chernetsov N. Electroretinographic study of the magnetic compass in European robins. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20202507. [PMID: 33290671 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Migratory birds are known to be sensitive to external magnetic field (MF). Much indirect evidence suggests that the avian magnetic compass is localized in the retina. Previously, we showed that changes in the MF direction could modulate retinal responses in pigeons. In the present study, we performed similar experiments using the traditional model animal to study the magnetic compass, European robins. The photoresponses of isolated retina were recorded using ex vivo electroretinography (ERG). Blue- and red-light stimuli were applied under an MF with the natural intensity and two MF directions, when the angle between the plane of the retina and the field lines was 0° and 90°, respectively. The results were separately analysed for four quadrants of the retina. A comparison of the amplitudes of the a- and b-waves of the ERG responses to blue stimuli under the two MF directions revealed a small but significant difference in a- but not b-waves, and in only one (nasal) quadrant of the retina. The amplitudes of both the a- and b-waves of the ERG responses to red stimuli did not show significant effects of the MF direction. Thus, changes in the external MF modulate the European robin retinal responses to blue flashes, but not to red flashes. This result is in a good agreement with behavioural data showing the successful orientation of birds in an MF under blue, but not under red illumination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luba A Astakhova
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 44 Toreza Ave., St Petersburg 194223, Russia
| | - Alexander Yu Rotov
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 44 Toreza Ave., St Petersburg 194223, Russia
| | - Roman V Cherbunin
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 44 Toreza Ave., St Petersburg 194223, Russia
| | - Arsenii A Goriachenkov
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 44 Toreza Ave., St Petersburg 194223, Russia
| | - Kirill V Kavokin
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 44 Toreza Ave., St Petersburg 194223, Russia
| | - Michael L Firsov
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 44 Toreza Ave., St Petersburg 194223, Russia
| | - Nikita Chernetsov
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, 44 Toreza Ave., St Petersburg 194223, Russia
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Malkemper EP, Nimpf S, Nordmann GC, Keays DA. Neuronal circuits and the magnetic sense: central questions. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:223/21/jeb232371. [PMID: 33168544 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.232371] [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] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Magnetoreception is the ability to sense the Earth's magnetic field, which is used for orientation and navigation. Behavioural experiments have shown that it is employed by many species across all vertebrate classes; however, our understanding of how magnetic information is processed and integrated within the central nervous system is limited. In this Commentary, we review the progress in birds and rodents, highlighting the role of the vestibular and trigeminal systems as well as that of the hippocampus. We reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the methodologies currently at our disposal, the utility of emerging technologies and identify questions that we feel are critical for the advancement of the field. We expect that magnetic circuits are likely to share anatomical motifs with other senses, which culminates in the formation of spatial maps in telencephalic areas of the brain. Specifically, we predict the existence of spatial cells that encode defined components of the Earth's magnetic field.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Pascal Malkemper
- Max Planck Research Group Neurobiology of Magnetoreception, Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar), Ludwig-Erhard-Allee 2, Bonn 53175, Germany
| | - Simon Nimpf
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Campus Vienna Biocenter 1, Vienna 1030, Austria
| | - Gregory C Nordmann
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Campus Vienna Biocenter 1, Vienna 1030, Austria
| | - David A Keays
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Campus Vienna Biocenter 1, Vienna 1030, Austria .,Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.,Division of Neurobiology, Department Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany
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