Prenatal visual experience influences the development of turning bias in bobwhite quail chicks Colinus virginianus

Abstract

This study examined the effects of prenatal sensory experience on the development of turning bias in a precocial avian species (bobwhite quail). Control tests with naive bobwhite quail chicks revealed a left-side turning bias in 85% of subjects. Such large population biases are considered unusual in nonhuman species. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 demonstrated that prenatal visual experience is a significant contributor to this population level left-side turning bias in bobwhite quail chicks. In contrast, prenatal auditory experience did not appear to significantly influence the development of postnatal turning bias. The findings of this study are discussed in terms of an epigenetic theory for the development of hemispheric specialization and behavioral asymmetry.

Developmental Dynamics: Toward a Biologically Plausible Evolutionary Psychology.

“…In the later stages of prenatal development, the avian embryo is oriented in the egg such that its left eye and left ear are occluded by the body and yolk sac, whereas the right eye is exposed to light passing through the egg shell and the right ear is exposed to sound passing through the egg shell. The differential prenatal visual experience resulting from this postural orientation prior to hatching appears to facilitate the development of the left hemisphere of the brain in advance of the right and to significantly influence the direction of hemispheric specialization for a variety of postnatal behaviors, including visual discrimination, spatial orientation, and various motor asymmetries (Casey & Lickliter, 1998;Casey & Martino, 2000;Rodgers, 1982Rodgers, , 1986Zappia & Rodgers, 1983). Similar patterns of prenatal influence on postnatal cerebral dominance have also been proposed for mammals, including humans (Previc, 1991;Turkewitz, 1988Turkewitz, , 1991.…”

Comment on “Number-space mapping in the newborn chick resembles humans’ mental number line”

“…For example, chicks show significant bias for turning left at the intersection of a T maze (4,6,9,11), in addition to task-dependent preferences for foot and eye use (2,3,5). Such biases are sculpted by normally occurring pre-and perinatal experience, including both differential exposure of the hemispheres to audiovisual stimulation prenatally (4,7,11,12) and the repetitive turning movements necessary for chicks to successfully hatch from the egg (6, 9).…”

Developmental evolution and the origins of phenotypic variation

“…Occluding the right eye and stimulating the left eye with light prior to hatching reversed this species-typical turning bias. Further, the induction of such lateralization was prevented by incubating eggs in darkness or by providing the same level of light stimulation to both eyes in the period prior to hatching (66). In this example, phenotypic variation across experimental groups occurred when different embryos did not have the same developmental resources (patterns of prenatal visual stimulation).…”

“…Altering the normal pattern of light stimulation available during prenatal development can modify this typical pattern of brain and behavioral development (65). For example, Casey and Lickliter (66) found a left spatial turning bias in a large majority of quail chicks following hatching ( > 85%). Occluding the right eye and stimulating the left eye with light prior to hatching reversed this species-typical turning bias.…”