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Coppola VJ, Scribner HR, Barnett C, Flanigan KAS, Riesgo VR, Bingman VP. Age-related reductions in whole brain mass and telencephalon volume in very old white Carneau pigeons (Columba livia). Neurosci Lett 2024; 828:137754. [PMID: 38556244 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2024.137754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
While studies have identified age-related cognitive impairment in pigeons (Columba livia), no study has detected the brain atrophy which typically accompanies cognitive impairment in older mammals. Instead, Coppola and Bingman (Aging is associated with larger brain mass and volume in homing pigeons (Columba livia), Neurosci. Letters 698 (2019) 39-43) reported increased whole brain mass and telencephalon volume in older, compared to younger, homing pigeons. One reason for this unexpected finding might be that the older pigeons studied were not old enough to display age-related brain atrophy. Therefore, the current study repeated Coppola and Bingman, but with a sample of older white Carneau pigeons that were on average 5.34 years older. Brains from young and old homing pigeons were weighed and orthogonal measurements of the telencephalon, cerebellum, and optic tectum were obtained. Despite having a heavier body mass than younger pigeons, older pigeons had a significant reduction in whole brain mass and telencephalon volume, but not cerebellum or optic tectum volume. This study is therefore the first to find that pigeons experience age-related brain atrophy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent J Coppola
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, USA.
| | - Holden R Scribner
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, USA
| | - Caillie Barnett
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, USA
| | - Kaylyn A S Flanigan
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA; J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind, & Behavior, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
| | - Victoria R Riesgo
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA; J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind, & Behavior, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA; J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind, & Behavior, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
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Coppola VJ, Caram HE, Robeson C, Beeler SM, Hebets EA, Wiegmann DD, Bingman VP. Investigating boundary-geometry use by whip spiders (Phrynus marginemaculatus) during goal-directed navigation. Learn Behav 2023:10.3758/s13420-023-00600-5. [PMID: 37620643 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-023-00600-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that whip spiders (Amblypygi) can use a variety of cues to navigate to and recognize a home refuge. The current study aimed to determine whether whip spiders were capable of using the boundary geometry of an experimental space (geometric information) to guide goal-directed navigation and to investigate any preferential use of geometric or feature (visual) information. Animals were first trained to find a goal location situated in one corner of a rectangular arena (geometric information) fronting a dark-green-colored wall, which created a brightness contrast with the other three white walls (feature information). Various probe trials were then implemented to determine cue use. It was found that animals were capable of directing their choice behavior towards geometrically correct corners at a rate significantly higher than chance, even when the feature cue was removed. By contrast, choice behavior dropped to random chance when geometric information was removed (test in a square arena) and only feature information remained. Choice behavior was also reduced to chance when geometric and feature information were set in conflict (by moving the feature cue to one of the longer walls in the rectangular arena). The data thus suggest that whip spiders are capable of using geometric information to guide goal-directed navigation and that geometric information is preferred over feature guidance, although a feature cue may set the context for activating geometry-guided navigation. Experimental design limitations and future directions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent J Coppola
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, USA.
| | - Hannah E Caram
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, USA
| | - Cecilia Robeson
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, USA
| | - Sophia M Beeler
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, USA
| | - Eileen A Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Daniel D Wiegmann
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
- J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
| | - Verner P Bingman
- J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
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Flanigan KAS, Wiegmann DD, Casto P, Coppola VJ, Flesher NR, Hebets EA, Bingman VP. Visual control of refuge recognition in the whip spider Phrynus marginemaculatus. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2021; 207:729-737. [PMID: 34591165 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01509-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Amblypygids, or whip spiders, are nocturnally active arachnids which live in structurally complex environments. Whip spiders are excellent navigators that can re-locate a home refuge without relying on visual input. Therefore, an open question is whether visual input can control any aspect of whip spider spatial behavior. In the current study, Phrynus marginemaculatus were trained to locate an escape refuge by discriminating between differently oriented black and white stripes placed either on the walls of a testing arena (frontal discrimination) or on the ceiling of the same testing arena (overhead discrimination). Regardless of the placement of the visual stimuli, the whip spiders were successful in learning the location of the escape refuge. In a follow-up study of the overhead discrimination, occluding the median eyes was found to disrupt the ability of the whip spiders to locate the shelter. The data support the conclusion that whip spiders can rely on vision to learn and recognize an escape shelter. We suggest that visual inputs to the brain's mushroom bodies enable this ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaylyn A S Flanigan
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA. .,J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
| | - Daniel D Wiegmann
- J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
| | - Patrick Casto
- J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
| | - Vincent J Coppola
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, USA
| | - Natasha R Flesher
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.,J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
| | - Eileen A Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.,J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
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Coppola VJ, Nardi D, Bingman VP. Age-associated decline in septum neuronal activation during spatial learning in homing pigeons (Columba livia). Behav Brain Res 2020; 397:112948. [PMID: 33017641 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The relationship between hippocampal aging and spatial-cognitive decline in birds has recently been investigated. However, like its mammalian counterpart, the avian hippocampus does not work in isolation and its relationship to the septum is of particular interest. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of age on septum (medial and lateral) and associated nucleus of the diagonal band (NDB) neuronal activation (as indicated by c-Fos expression) during learning of a spatial, delayed non-match-to-sample task conducted in a modified radial arm maze. The results indicated significantly reduced septum, but not NDB, activation during spatial learning in older pigeons. We also preliminarily investigated the effect of age on the number of cholinergic septum and NDB neurons (as indicated by expression of choline acetyltransferase; ChAT). Although underpowered to reveal a statistical effect, the data suggest that older pigeons have substantially fewer ChAT-expressing cells in the septum compared to younger pigeons. The data support the hypothesis that reduced activation of the septum contributes to the age-related, spatial cognitive impairment in pigeons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent J Coppola
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, United States; J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind, & Behavior, Bowling Green, OH, United States.
| | - Daniele Nardi
- Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, United States
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, United States; J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind, & Behavior, Bowling Green, OH, United States; Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, United States
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Casto P, Wiegmann DD, Coppola VJ, Nardi D, Hebets EA, Bingman VP. Vertical-surface navigation in the Neotropical whip spider Paraphrynus laevifrons (Arachnida: Amblypygi). Anim Cogn 2020; 23:1205-1213. [PMID: 32851552 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01420-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Casto
- Department of Biological Sciences, 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.
| | - Daniel D Wiegmann
- Department of Biological Sciences, 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
| | - Vincent J Coppola
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, USA
| | - Daniele Nardi
- Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA
| | - Eileen A Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Verner P Bingman
- J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
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Nardi D, Carpenter SE, Johnson SR, Gilliland GA, Melo VL, Pugliese R, Coppola VJ, Kelly DM. Spatial reorientation with a geometric array of auditory cues. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2020; 75:362-373. [PMID: 32111145 DOI: 10.1177/1747021820913295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A visuocentric bias has dominated the literature on spatial navigation and reorientation. Studies on visually accessed environments indicate that, during reorientation, human and non-human animals encode the geometric shape of the environment, even if this information is unnecessary and insufficient for the task. In an attempt to extend our limited knowledge on the similarities and differences between visual and non-visual navigation, here we examined whether the same phenomenon would be observed during auditory-guided reorientation. Provided with a rectangular array of four distinct auditory landmarks, blindfolded, sighted participants had to learn the location of a target object situated on a panel of an octagonal arena. Subsequent test trials were administered to understand how the task was acquired. Crucially, in a condition in which the auditory cues were indistinguishable (same sound sample), participants could still identify the correct target location, suggesting that the rectangular array of auditory landmarks was encoded as a geometric configuration. This is the first evidence of incidental encoding of geometric information with auditory cues and, consistent with the theory of functional equivalence, it supports the generalisation of mechanisms of spatial learning across encoding modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Nardi
- Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA
| | | | - Somer R Johnson
- Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA
| | - Greg A Gilliland
- Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA
| | - Viveka L Melo
- Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA
| | - Roberto Pugliese
- Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Vincent J Coppola
- Department of Psychology, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL, USA
| | - Debbie M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Coppola VJ, Bingman VP. c-Fos revealed lower hippocampal participation in older homing pigeons when challenged with a spatial memory task. Neurobiol Aging 2019; 87:98-107. [PMID: 31889558 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2018] [Revised: 11/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Homing pigeons experience age-related spatial-cognitive decline similar to that seen in mammals. In contrast to mammals, however, previous studies have shown the hippocampal formation (HF) of old, cognitively impaired pigeons to be greater in volume and neuron number compared with young pigeons. As a partial explanation of the cognitive decline in older birds, it was hypothesized that older pigeons have reduced HF activation during spatial learning. The present study compared HF activation (via the activity-dependent expression of the immediate early gene c-Fos) between younger and older pigeons during learning of a spatial, delayed nonmatch-to-sample task. On the last day of training, c-Fos activation significantly correlated with behavioral performance in the young, but not old, pigeons suggesting more HF engagement by the young pigeons in solving the task. The behavioral correlation was additionally associated with consistently higher, but insignificant c-Fos activation across practically every HF subdivision in the young compared with the old pigeons. In sum, the results of the present study are consistent with the hypothesis that age-related decline in the spatial cognitive ability of homing pigeons is in part a result of an older HF being less responsive to the processing of spatial information. However, alternative interpretations of the data are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent J Coppola
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA; J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind, & Behavior, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA; J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind, & Behavior, Bowling Green, OH, USA
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Coppola VJ, Bingman VP. Aging is associated with larger brain mass and volume in homing pigeons (Columba livia). Neurosci Lett 2019; 698:39-43. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2018] [Revised: 12/28/2018] [Accepted: 01/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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Sotelo MI, Nardi D, Payne KB, Coppola VJ, Muzio RN, Bingman VP. Local geometric properties do not support reorientation in hippocampus-engaged homing pigeons. Behav Neurosci 2019; 133:255-264. [PMID: 30667239 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
It is generally accepted that the geometry of an environment is a reliable source of information for spatial navigation used by most vertebrate species. However, there is a continuing debate on which geometrical properties of space are the ones that matter for reorientation. In this study, pigeons were trained to find a food reward hidden in 2 opposite corners in a rectangular arena. The animals were then tested in a kite-shaped environment similar to Pearce, Good, Jones, and McGregor (2004). We found that pigeons, unlike rats, were not able to identify the correct corner in the kite arena even though elements clearly preserved the correct long wall-short wall geometric configuration and the local aspect of the trained goal. This behavioral study was followed by a c-Fos, IEG analysis of brain activation that contrasted pigeons exposed to the trained, familiar rectangular environment with pigeons that were exposed to an unfamiliar, trapezoid arena. The hippocampal formation (HF) displayed greater c-Fos expression in the animals exposed to the familiar, training arena, which further supports the conclusion that pigeons do not substantially rely on local geometric features for reorientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- María Inés Sotelo
- Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (IBYME-CONICET) and Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires
| | - Daniele Nardi
- Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University
| | - Karissa B Payne
- Department of Psychology and J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University
| | - Vincent J Coppola
- Department of Psychology and J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University
| | - Rubén N Muzio
- Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (IBYME-CONICET) and Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology and J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Coppola VJ, Flaim ME, Carney SN, Bingman VP. An age-related deficit in spatial–feature reference memory in homing pigeons (Columba livia). Behav Brain Res 2015; 280:1-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.11.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2014] [Revised: 11/10/2014] [Accepted: 11/15/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Gagliardo A, Pollonara E, Coppola VJ, Santos CD, Wikelski M, Bingman VP. Evidence for perceptual neglect of environmental features in hippocampal-lesioned pigeons during homing. Eur J Neurosci 2014; 40:3102-10. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2014] [Revised: 06/11/2014] [Accepted: 06/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Gagliardo
- Department of Biology; University of Pisa; Via Volta 6 56126 Pisa Italy
| | - Enrica Pollonara
- Department of Biology; University of Pisa; Via Volta 6 56126 Pisa Italy
| | - Vincent J. Coppola
- Department of Psychology and J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior; Bowling Green State University; Bowling Green OH USA
| | - Carlos D. Santos
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology; Max Planck Institute for Ornithology; Radolfzell Germany
- Departamento de Biologia; Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde; Universidade Federal do Maranhão; São Luís MA Brazil
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology; Max Planck Institute for Ornithology; Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Biology; University of Konstanz; Konstanz Germany
| | - Verner P. Bingman
- Department of Psychology and J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior; Bowling Green State University; Bowling Green OH USA
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Coppola VJ, Spencer JM, Peterson RM, Bingman VP. Hippocampal lesions in homing pigeons do not impair feature-quality or feature-quantity discrimination. Behav Brain Res 2014; 260:83-91. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.11.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2013] [Revised: 11/22/2013] [Accepted: 11/24/2013] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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