1
|
Balanoff A, Ferrer E, Saleh L, Gignac PM, Gold MEL, Marugán-Lobón J, Norell M, Ouellette D, Salerno M, Watanabe A, Wei S, Bever G, Vaska P. Quantitative functional imaging of the pigeon brain: implications for the evolution of avian powered flight. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232172. [PMID: 38290541 PMCID: PMC10827418 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The evolution of flight is a rare event in vertebrate history, and one that demands functional integration across multiple anatomical/physiological systems. The neuroanatomical basis for such integration and the role that brain evolution assumes in behavioural transformations remain poorly understood. We make progress by (i) generating a positron emission tomography (PET)-based map of brain activity for pigeons during rest and flight, (ii) using these maps in a functional analysis of the brain during flight, and (iii) interpreting these data within a macroevolutionary context shaped by non-avian dinosaurs. Although neural activity is generally conserved from rest to flight, we found significant increases in the cerebellum as a whole and optic flow pathways. Conserved activity suggests processing of self-movement and image stabilization are critical when a bird takes to the air, while increased visual and cerebellar activity reflects the importance of integrating multimodal sensory information for flight-related movements. A derived cerebellar capability likely arose at the base of maniraptoran dinosaurs, where volumetric expansion and possible folding directly preceded paravian flight. These data represent an important step toward establishing how the brain of modern birds supports their unique behavioural repertoire and provide novel insights into the neurobiology of the bird-like dinosaurs that first achieved powered flight.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amy Balanoff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Elizabeth Ferrer
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Samuel Merritt University, Oakland, CA 94609, USA
| | - Lemise Saleh
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Paul M. Gignac
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
| | - M. Eugenia L. Gold
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Department of Biology, Suffolk University, Boston, MA 02108, USA
| | - Jesús Marugán-Lobón
- Unidad de Paleontología, Departamento Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain
| | - Mark Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | | | - Michael Salerno
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Akinobu Watanabe
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Shouyi Wei
- Department of Physics, New York Proton Center, New York, NY 10035, USA
| | - Gabriel Bever
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Paul Vaska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| |
Collapse
|