Lateralized Interhemispheric Transfer of Color Cues: Evidence for Dynamic Coding Principles of Visual Lateralization in Pigeons

Skiba, Martina; Diekamp, Bettina; Prior, Helmut; Güntürkün, Onur

doi:10.1006/brln.2000.2306

Cited by 26 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Cells that respond to ipsilateral stimulation were nearly exclusively detected within the left rotundus, but their number is remarkably small even on the left side41. Moreover, interocular transfer of learnt color discrimination is asymmetrically delayed up to three hours42. These data provide evidence for the action of neuronal mechanisms that regulate access and/or handling of ipsilateral input.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Shaping a lateralized brain: Asymmetrical light experience modulates access to visual interhemispheric information in pigeons

Letzner

Patzke

Verhaal

et al. 2014

Sci Rep

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Cerebral asymmetries result from hemispheric specialization and interhemispheric communication pattern that develop in close gene-environment interactions. To gain a deeper understanding of developmental and functional interrelations, we investigated interhemispheric information exchange in pigeons, which possess a lateralized visual system that develops in response to asymmetrical ontogenetic light stimulation. We monocularly trained pigeons with or without embryonic light experience in color discriminations whereby they learned another pair of colors with each eye. Thereby, information from the ipsilateral eye had to be transferred. Monocular tests confronting the animals with trained and transferred color pairs demonstrated that embryonic light stimulation modulates the balance of asymmetrical handling of transfer information. Stronger embryonic stimulation of the left hemisphere significantly enhanced access to interhemispheric visual information, thereby reversing the right-hemispheric advantage that develops in the absence of embryonic light experience. These data support the critical role of environmental factors in molding a functionally lateralized brain.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Shaping a lateralized brain: Asymmetrical light experience modulates access to visual interhemispheric information in pigeons

Letzner

Patzke

Verhaal

et al. 2014

Sci Rep

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“…Physiological and lesion studies show that functional lateralization patterns not only depend on static, structural asymmetries but also on a dynamic balance between left-and righthemispheric processing [20]. The SP is in a position to play a key role in mediating this balance given its proposed involvement in the shift of attention between the eyes [3,18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A morphological study of the nucleus subpretectalis of the pigeon

Freund

Güntürkün

Manns

2008

Brain Research Bulletin

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In pigeons, the tectofugal system is functionally as well as structurally lateralized. So for example the right nucleus rotundus is less modulated by right forebrain influences than the left nucleus rotundus by the left ones. This functional lateralization pattern may depend on a dynamic balance between left and right tectal processing. Apart from inhibitory interactions at tectal level, suppressive influences might directly affect rotundal neurons by GABAergic input from a cluster of nuclei, the bed nuclei of the tecto-thalamic tract. A major afferent of these nuclei is the side branch of the tectorotundal projection which is of bilateral origin and which is involved in the regulation of ipsilateral as well as bilateral visual processing. Hence, an important role of the bed nuclei could be the interhemispheric communication and in turn the mediation of functional asymmetries. In a first step to unravel asymmetric influences of these nuclei, the present study investigated if the largest of the bed nuclei, the nucleus subpretectalis displays morphological asymmetries in the pigeon. We found that the nucleus subpretectalis in fact exhibits asymmetric cell sizes with larger cell bodies on the left side. This asymmetrical pattern was not present in dark-incubated animals indicating that cell size asymmetries within nucleus subpretectalis are induced by asymmetric photic stimulation during embryonic development.

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“…While both store some of their memories unilaterally, the development of the corpus callosum has enabled placental mammals to access these traces interhemispherically more efficiently. Although birds are also able to transfer some information between left and right [22,26] this study outlines how limited these transfers can be. This limitation probably forces birds to execute motor responses based on unihemispheric processes [19].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unihemispheric memory in pigeons-knowledge, the left hemisphere is reluctant to share

Nottelmann

Wohlschläger

Güntürkün

2002

Behavioural Brain Research

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In the present study, pigeons were trained under binocular conditions in a conditional visual discrimination in which they were faced with two identical patterns arranged one above the other. In half of these stimulus pairs the animals had to peck the upper pattern, in the other half the lower one. Although only six pairs of stimuli were used, only four out of eight birds reached learning criterion. These animals needed up to 6 months of training with 3050 to 6650 trails. Then, the experiment proceeded under identical conditions using eye caps restricting vision alternatively to the left or the right eye. These monocular tests revealed that three out of four birds virtually had no knowledge of the task contingencies using their left eye (right hemisphere). Again, several thousand trials were needed to train the birds to criterion with their left eye, while they were simultaneously discriminating at a very high level with their right. These results show that memories on task contingencies are stored unihemispherically in the visually dominant left side despite extensive training with both eyes open. Additionally, it can be concluded that the subsequent read-out by the 'naive' hemisphere can be largely restricted, resulting in a 'natural split-brain' like situation in birds. It is speculated that the absence of a corpus callosum in birds restricts interhemispheric transfer of information. #

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Lateralized Interhemispheric Transfer of Color Cues: Evidence for Dynamic Coding Principles of Visual Lateralization in Pigeons

Cited by 26 publications

References 79 publications

Shaping a lateralized brain: Asymmetrical light experience modulates access to visual interhemispheric information in pigeons

Shaping a lateralized brain: Asymmetrical light experience modulates access to visual interhemispheric information in pigeons

A morphological study of the nucleus subpretectalis of the pigeon

Unihemispheric memory in pigeons-knowledge, the left hemisphere is reluctant to share

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