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Gagliardo A, Bingman VP. The avian olfactory system and hippocampus: Complementary roles in the olfactory and visual guidance of homing pigeon navigation. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2024; 86:102870. [PMID: 38552546 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
The homing pigeon is the foundational model species used to investigate the neural control of avian navigation. The olfactory system is critically involved in implementing the so-called olfactory map, used to locate position relative to home from unfamiliar locations. The hippocampal formation supports a complementary navigational system based on familiar visual landmarks. Insight into the neural control of pigeon navigation has been revolutionised by GPS-tracking technology, which has been crucial for both detailing the critical role of environmental odours for navigation over unfamiliar areas as well as offering unprecedented insight into the role of the hippocampal formation in visual landscape/landmark-based navigation, including a possible, unexpected role in visual-spatial perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Gagliardo
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology, J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA
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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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Zhu JY, Zhang ZH, Liu G, Wan H. Enhanced Hippocampus-Nidopallium Caudolaterale Interaction in Visual-Spatial Associative Learning of Pigeons. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:456. [PMID: 38338099 PMCID: PMC10854635 DOI: 10.3390/ani14030456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Learning the spatial location associated with visual cues in the environment is crucial for survival. This ability is supported by a distributed interactive network. However, it is not fully understood how the most important task-related brain areas in birds, the hippocampus (Hp) and the nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL), interact in visual-spatial associative learning. To investigate the mechanisms of such coordination, synchrony and causal analysis were applied to the local field potentials of the Hp and NCL of pigeons while performing a visual-spatial associative learning task. The results showed that, over the course of learning, theta-band (4-12 Hz) oscillations in the Hp and NCL became strongly synchronized before the pigeons entered the critical choice platform for turning, with the information flowing preferentially from the Hp to the NCL. The learning process was primarily associated with the increased Hp-NCL interaction of theta rhythm. Meanwhile, the enhanced theta-band Hp-NCL interaction predicted the correct choice, supporting the pigeons' use of visual cues to guide navigation. These findings provide insight into the dynamics of Hp-NCL interaction during visual-spatial associative learning, serving to reveal the mechanisms of Hp and NCL coordination during the encoding and retrieval of visual-spatial associative memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun-Yao Zhu
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; (J.-Y.Z.); (Z.-H.Z.)
- Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Zhi-Heng Zhang
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; (J.-Y.Z.); (Z.-H.Z.)
- Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Gang Liu
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; (J.-Y.Z.); (Z.-H.Z.)
- Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain-Machine Intelligence for Information Behavior, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201613, China
| | - Hong Wan
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; (J.-Y.Z.); (Z.-H.Z.)
- Henan Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain-Computer Interface Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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Madison FN, Bingman VP, Smulders TV, Lattin CR. A bird's eye view of the hippocampus beyond space: Behavioral, neuroanatomical, and neuroendocrine perspectives. Horm Behav 2024; 157:105451. [PMID: 37977022 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Although the hippocampus is one of the most-studied brain regions in mammals, research on the avian hippocampus has been more limited in scope. It is generally agreed that the hippocampus is an ancient feature of the amniote brain, and therefore homologous between the two lineages. Because birds and mammals are evolutionarily not very closely related, any shared anatomy is likely to be crucial for shared functions of their hippocampi. These functions, in turn, are likely to be essential if they have been conserved for over 300 million years. Therefore, research on the avian hippocampus can help us understand how this brain region evolved and how it has changed over evolutionary time. Further, there is a strong research foundation in birds on hippocampal-supported behaviors such as spatial navigation, food caching, and brood parasitism that scientists can build upon to better understand how hippocampal anatomy, network circuitry, endocrinology, and physiology can help control these behaviors. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of the avian hippocampus in spatial cognition as well as in regulating anxiety, approach-avoidance behavior, and stress responses. Although there are still some questions about the exact number of subdivisions in the avian hippocampus and how that might vary in different avian families, there is intriguing evidence that the avian hippocampus might have complementary functional profiles along the rostral-caudal axis similar to the dorsal-ventral axis of the rodent hippocampus, where the rostral/dorsal hippocampus is more involved in cognitive processes like spatial learning and the caudal/ventral hippocampus regulates emotional states, anxiety, and the stress response. Future research should focus on elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms - including endocrinological - in the avian hippocampus that underlie behaviors such as spatial navigation, spatial memory, and anxiety-related behaviors, and in so doing, resolve outstanding questions about avian hippocampal function and organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farrah N Madison
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology, J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA
| | - Tom V Smulders
- Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, School of Psychology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4DR, UK
| | - Christine R Lattin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA.
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Rook N, Stacho M, Schwarz A, Bingman VP, Güntürkün O. Neuronal circuits within the homing pigeon hippocampal formation. J Comp Neurol 2023; 531:790-813. [PMID: 36808394 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/20/2023]
Abstract
The current study aimed to reveal in detail patterns of intrahippocampal connectivity in homing pigeons (Columba livia). In light of recent physiological evidence suggesting differences between dorsomedial and ventrolateral hippocampal regions and a hitherto unknown laminar organization along the transverse axis, we also aimed to gain a higher-resolution understanding of the proposed pathway segregation. Both in vivo and high-resolution in vitro tracing techniques were employed and revealed a complex connectivity pattern along the subdivisions of the avian hippocampus. We uncovered connectivity pathways along the transverse axis that started in the dorsolateral hippocampus and continued to the dorsomedial subdivision, from where information was relayed to the triangular region either directly or indirectly via the V-shaped layers. The often-reciprocal connectivity along these subdivisions displayed an intriguing topographical arrangement such that two parallel pathways could be discerned along the ventrolateral (deep) and dorsomedial (superficial) aspects of the avian hippocampus. The segregation along the transverse axis was further supported by expression patterns of the glial fibrillary acidic protein and calbindin. Moreover, we found strong expression of Ca2+ /calmodulin-dependent kinase IIα and doublecortin in the lateral but not medial V-shape layer, indicating a difference between the two V-shaped layers. Overall, our findings provide an unprecedented, detailed description of avian intrahippocampal pathway connectivity, and confirm the recently proposed segregation of the avian hippocampus along the transverse axis. We also provide further support for the hypothesized homology of the lateral V-shape layer and the dorsomedial hippocampus with the dentate gyrus and Ammon's horn of mammals, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noemi Rook
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Martin Stacho
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Ariane Schwarz
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA
- J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Deconstructing the flight paths of hippocampal-lesioned homing pigeons as they navigate near home offers insight into spatial perception and memory without a hippocampus. Behav Brain Res 2023; 436:114073. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Gagliardo A, Pollonara E, Casini G, Bingman VP. Unilateral hippocampal lesions and the navigational performance of homing pigeons as revealed by GPS-tracking. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2022.2152105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Gagliardo
- 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
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Hough GE. Neural Substrates of Homing Pigeon Spatial Navigation: Results From Electrophysiology Studies. Front Psychol 2022; 13:867939. [PMID: 35465504 PMCID: PMC9020565 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.867939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Over many centuries, the homing pigeon has been selectively bred for returning home from a distant location. As a result of this strong selective pressure, homing pigeons have developed an excellent spatial navigation system. This system passes through the hippocampal formation (HF), which shares many striking similarities to the mammalian hippocampus; there are a host of shared neuropeptides, interconnections, and its role in the storage and manipulation of spatial maps. There are some notable differences as well: there are unique connectivity patterns and spatial encoding strategies. This review summarizes the comparisons between the avian and mammalian hippocampal systems, and the responses of single neurons in several general categories: (1) location and place cells responding in specific areas, (2) path and goal cells responding between goal locations, (3) context-dependent cells that respond before or during a task, and (4) pattern, grid, and boundary cells that increase firing at stable intervals. Head-direction cells, responding to a specific compass direction, are found in mammals and other birds but not to date in pigeons. By studying an animal that evolved under significant adaptive pressure to quickly develop a complex and efficient spatial memory system, we may better understand the comparative neurology of neurospatial systems, and plot new and potentially fruitful avenues of comparative research in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerald E Hough
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, United States.,Department of Psychology, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, United States
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Gagliardo A, Colombo S, Pollonara E, Casini G, Rossino MG, Wikelski M, Bingman VP. GPS-profiling of retrograde navigational impairments associated with hippocampal lesion in homing pigeons. Behav Brain Res 2021; 412:113408. [PMID: 34111471 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The avian hippocampal formation (HF) is homologous to the mammalian hippocampus and plays a central role in the control of spatial cognition. In homing pigeons, HF supports navigation by familiar landmarks and landscape features. However, what has remained relatively unexplored is the importance of HF for the retention of previously acquired spatial information. For example, to date, no systematic GPS-tracking studies on the retention of HF-dependent navigational memory in homing pigeons have been performed. Therefore, the current study was designed to compare the pre- and post-surgical navigational performance of sham-lesioned control and HF-lesioned pigeons tracked from three different sites located in different directions with respect to home. The pre- and post-surgical comparison of the pigeons' flight paths near the release sites and before reaching the area surrounding the home loft (4 km radius from the loft) revealed that the control and HF-lesioned pigeons displayed similarly successful retention. By contrast, the HF-lesioned pigeons displayed dramatically and consistently impaired retention in navigating to their home loft during the terminal phase of the homing flight near home, i.e., where navigation is supported by memory for landmark and landscape features. The data demonstrate that HF lesions lead to a dramatic loss of pre-surgically acquired landmark and landscape navigational information while sparing those mechanisms associated with navigation from locations distant from home.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology, 4Department 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
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Bingman VP, Pemberton ML, Mora CV. Avian forebrain processing of magnetic intensity and inclination: hippocampus, anterior forebrain Wulst and an unexpected double-dissociation. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2021.1871966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Verner P. Bingman
- Department of Psychology and J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA
| | - Merissa L. Pemberton
- Department of Psychology and J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA
| | - Cordula V. Mora
- Department of Psychology and J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA
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Gagliardo A, Pollonara E, Casini G, Rossino MG, Wikelski M, Bingman VP. Importance of the hippocampus for the learning of route fidelity in homing pigeons. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200095. [PMCID: PMC7423047 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The avian hippocampal formation (HF) is thought to regulate map-like memory representations of visual landmarks/landscape features and has more recently been suggested to be similarly important for the perceptual integration of landmarks/landscapes. Aspects of spatial memory and perception likely combine to support the now well-documented ability of homing pigeons to learn to retrace the same route when homing from familiar locations, leading to the prediction that damage to the HF would result in a diminished ability to repeatedly fly a similar route home. HF-lesioned homing pigeons were repeatedly released from three sites to assess the importance of the hippocampus as pigeons gradually learn a familiar route home guided by familiar landmark and landscape features. As expected, control pigeons displayed increasing fidelity to a familiar route home, and by inference, successful perceptual and memory processing of familiar landmarks/landscape features. By contrast, the impoverished route fidelity of the HF-lesioned pigeons indicated an impaired sensitivity to the same landmark/landscape features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Gagliardo
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Volta 6, I-56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Enrica Pollonara
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Volta 6, I-56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Giovanni Casini
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Volta 6, I-56126 Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - 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
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Gagliardo A, Pollonara E, Wikelski M. Only natural local odours allow homeward orientation in homing pigeons released at unfamiliar sites. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2018; 204:761-771. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-018-1277-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 06/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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The avian hippocampus and the hypothetical maps used by navigating migratory birds (with some reflection on compasses and migratory restlessness). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:465-474. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1161-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Revised: 02/16/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Meskenaite V, Krackow S, Lipp HP. Age-Dependent Neurogenesis and Neuron Numbers within the Olfactory Bulb and Hippocampus of Homing Pigeons. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:126. [PMID: 27445724 PMCID: PMC4916210 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2016] [Accepted: 06/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Many birds are supreme long-distance navigators that develop their navigational ability in the first months after fledgling but update the memorized environmental information needed for navigation also later in life. We studied the extent of juvenile and adult neurogenesis that could provide such age-related plasticity in brain regions known to mediate different mechanisms of pigeon homing: the olfactory bulb (OB), and the triangular area of the hippocampal formation (HP tr). Newly generated neurons (visualized by doublecortin, DCX) and mature neurons were counted stereologically in 35 pigeon brains ranging from 1 to 168 months of age. At the age of 1 month, both areas showed maximal proportions of DCX positive neurons, which rapidly declined during the first year of life. In the OB, the number of DCX-positive periglomerular neurons declined further over time, but the number of mature periglomerular cells appeared unchanged. In the hippocampus, the proportion of DCX-positive neurons showed a similar decline yet to a lesser extent. Remarkably, in the triangular area of the hippocampus, the oldest birds showed nearly twice the number of neurons as compared to young adult pigeons, suggesting that adult born neurons in these regions expanded the local circuitry even in aged birds. This increase might reflect navigational experience and, possibly, expanded spatial memory. On the other hand, the decrease of juvenile neurons in the aging OB without adding new circuitry might be related to the improved attachment to the loft characterizing adult and old pigeons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia Meskenaite
- Institute of Anatomy, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland; The Interface Group, Institute of Physiology, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Sven Krackow
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hans-Peter Lipp
- Institute of Anatomy, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland; Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, Kwazulu-Natal UniversityDurban, South Africa; Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
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Gagliardo A, Pollonara E, Wikelski M. Pigeon navigation: exposure to environmental odours prior to release is sufficient for homeward orientation, but not for homing. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 219:2475-80. [PMID: 27284069 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.140889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Accepted: 06/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The role of environmental olfactory information in pigeon navigation has been extensively studied by analysing vanishing bearing distributions and homing performances of homing pigeons subjected to manipulation of their olfactory perception and/or the olfactory information they were exposed to during transportation and at the release site. However, their behaviour during the homing flight remains undocumented. In this experiment we report the analysis of tracks of birds made anosmic at the release site by washing their olfactory mucosa with zinc sulfate. We thus can assess the role of local odours at the release site as well as the role of environmental odours perceived on the way, far from the release site. We observed that pigeons transported and kept at the release site in purified air and made anosmic at the release site were unable to orient towards home and were impaired at homing. By contrast, pigeons allowed to smell environmental odours during transportation and at the release site, although made anosmic prior to release, displayed unimpaired homeward orientation, but nevertheless showed impaired homing performance. These results are consistent with the view that local odours at the release site are critical for determining the direction of displacement (olfactory map) and suggest that pigeons consult the olfactory map also during their homing flight in order to be able to find their way home.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Gagliardo
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Volta 6, Pisa 56126, Italy
| | - Enrica Pollonara
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Volta 6, Pisa 56126, Italy
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department for Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Schlossallee 2, Radolfzell 78315, Germany Chair of Ornithology, Konstanz University, Konstanz 78457, Germany
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18
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Mouritsen
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany; ,
- Research Center Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Dominik Heyers
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany; ,
- Research Center Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany;
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Blaser N, Guskov SI, Entin VA, Wolfer DP, Kanevskyi VA, Lipp HP. Gravity anomalies without geomagnetic disturbances interfere with pigeon homing--a GPS tracking study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 217:4057-67. [PMID: 25392461 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.108670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The gravity vector theory postulates that birds determine their position to set a home course by comparing the memorized gravity vector at the home loft with the local gravity vector at the release site, and that they should adjust their flight course to the gravity anomalies encountered. As gravity anomalies are often intermingled with geomagnetic anomalies, we released experienced pigeons from the center of a strong circular gravity anomaly (25 km diameter) not associated with magnetic anomalies and from a geophysical control site, equidistant from the home loft (91 km). After crossing the border zone of the anomaly--expected to be most critical for pigeon navigation--they dispersed significantly more than control birds, except for those having met a gravity anomaly en route. These data increase the credibility of the gravity vector hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Blaser
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, 8053 Zurich, Switzerland Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, D-78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | | | | | - David P Wolfer
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, 8053 Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Hans-Peter Lipp
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, 8053 Zurich, Switzerland Department of Physiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, KwaZulu-Natal University, Durban 4000, South Africa
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Herold C, Coppola VJ, Bingman VP. The maturation of research into the avian hippocampal formation: Recent discoveries from one of the nature's foremost navigators. Hippocampus 2015; 25:1193-211. [DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/27/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christina Herold
- C. & O. Vogt-Institute of Brain Research, University of Düsseldorf; Düsseldorf Germany
| | - Vincent J. Coppola
- Department of Psychology; J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Bowling Green State University; Bowling Green Ohio
| | - Verner P. Bingman
- Department of Psychology; J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Bowling Green State University; Bowling Green Ohio
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Defensive behaviors and prosencephalic neurogenesis in pigeons (Columba livia) are affected by environmental enrichment in adulthood. Brain Struct Funct 2015; 221:2287-301. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-015-1043-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2014] [Accepted: 04/06/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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