Spontaneous and light-induced lateralization of immediate early genes expression in domestic chicks

Lorenzi, Elena; Mayer, Uwe; Rosa‐Salva, Orsola; Morandi-Raikova, Anastasia; Vallortígara, Giorgio

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2019.111905

Cited by 28 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…However, an alternative explanation is that this lateralisation pattern in the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala is not related to the recognition of bitter taste at all. Task independent higher expression of c-Fos in the left nucleus taeniae of the amygdala compared to right was present in our previous study ( Corrales Parada et al, 2021 ), and spontaneous lateralisation of c-Fos activity in young chicks without performing any task has also been found in other brain areas ( Lorenzi et al, 2019 ). Therefore, our results could be indicative of a baseline lateralisation of c-Fos expression independent of bitter taste.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Activation of the Nucleus Taeniae of the Amygdala by Umami Taste in Domestic Chicks (Gallus gallus)

et al. 2022

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In chickens, the sense of taste plays an important role in detecting nutrients and choosing feed. The molecular mechanisms underlying the taste-sensing system of chickens are well studied, but the neural mechanisms underlying taste reactivity have received less attention. Here we report the short-term taste behaviour of chickens towards umami and bitter (quinine) taste solutions and the associated neural activity in the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala, nucleus accumbens and lateral septum. We found that chickens had more contact with and drank greater volumes of umami than bitter or a water control, and that chicks displayed increased head shaking in response to bitter compared to the other tastes. We found that there was a higher neural activity, measured as c-Fos activation, in response to umami taste in the right hemisphere of the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala. In the left hemisphere, there was a higher c-Fos activation of the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala in response to bitter than in the right hemisphere. Our findings provide clear evidence that chickens respond differently to umami and bitter tastes, that there is a lateralised response to tastes at the neural level, and reveals a new function of the avian nucleus taeniae of the amygdala as a region processing reward information.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Activation of the Nucleus Taeniae of the Amygdala by Umami Taste in Domestic Chicks (Gallus gallus)

et al. 2022

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“…However, until recently, only few studies investigated the presence of similar effects at the neurobiological level (e.g., Johnston et al 1995). In our recent works, we started to tackle this issue reporting cases of neurobiological lateralisation in various brain areas of dark-incubated chicks (e.g., Mayer et al 2017;Lorenzi et al 2019;Morandi-Raikova and Mayer 2020;Morandi-Raikova et al 2021; see also Mayer et al 2016;Lorenzi et al 2017;Golüke et al 2019;Corrales Parada et al 2021 for similar trends). Intriguingly, in our latest work (Morandi-Raikova et al 2021), we described a case anatomical lateralisation in the entopallium of dark-incubated chicks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast to a well-described lateralisation of behavioural traits, only few studies have been devoted to the neural correlates of these phenomena (e.g., Rogers and Sink 1988 ; Rogers and Bolden 1991 ; Deng and Rogers 1997 ; Rogers and Deng 1999 ; Lorenzi et al 2019 ). Specifically, functional lateralisation in the avian visual system and the role of light-exposure in its development have never been investigated at the level of neural response properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light-incubation effects on lateralisation of single unit responses in the visual Wulst of domestic chicks

et al. 2021

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Since the ground-breaking discovery that in-egg light exposure triggers the emergence of visual lateralisation, domestic chicks became a crucial model for research on the interaction of environmental and genetic influences for brain development. In domestic chick embryos, light exposure induces neuroanatomical asymmetries in the strength of visual projections from the thalamus to the visual Wulst. Consequently, the right visual Wulst receives more bilateral information from the two eyes than the left one. How this impacts visual Wulst’s physiology is still unknown. This paper investigates the visual response properties of neurons in the left and right Wulst of dark- and light-incubated chicks, studying the effect of light incubation on bilaterally responsive cells that integrate information from both eyes. We recorded from a large number of visually responsive units, providing the first direct evidence of lateralisation in the neural response properties of units of the visual Wulst. While we confirm that some forms of lateralisation are induced by embryonic light exposure, we found also many cases of light-independent asymmetries. Moreover, we found a strong effect of in-egg light exposure on the general development of the functional properties of units in the two hemispheres. This indicates that the effect of embryonic stimulation goes beyond its contribution to the emergence of some forms of lateralisation, with influences on the maturation of visual units in both hemispheres.

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“…We focused on the domestic chick (Gallus gallus), a prominent model to investigate light-induced lateralisation [40,44,47,[50][51][52]. This model has several advantages: the ease of manipulating light exposure during egg incubation and post-hatch [34,50], the almost complete decussation of the fibres of the optic nerve and reduced number of connections between the two brain hemispheres present in birds [46], and the ease of testing a precocial species that has a mature motor and sensory system at the beginning of life [53].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In birds, the rightward torsion of the embryo [42][43][44] asymmetrically exposes the right eye to the light that filters through the egg, while the left eye is covered by the body (see Figure 1A). This asymmetrical light exposure induces both anatomical and functional lateralisation [19,[44][45][46][47][48][49].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light-induced asymmetries in the embryonic retina are mediated by the vascular system and extracellular matrix

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et al. 2021

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Left-right asymmetries in the nervous system (lateralisation) influence a broad range of behaviours, from social responses to navigation and language. The role and pathways of endogenous and environmental mechanisms in the ontogeny of lateralisation remains to be established. The domestic chick is a model of both endogenous and experience-induced lateralisation driven by light exposure. Following the endogenous rightward rotation of the embryo, the asymmetrical position in the egg results in a greater exposure of the right eye to environmental light. To identify the genetic pathways activated by asymmetric light stimulation, and their time course, we exposed embryos to different light regimes: darkness, 6 hours of light and 24 hours of light. We used RNA-seq to compare gene expression in the right and left retinas and telencephalon. As expected, no differential expression between left and right was present in darkness. We detected differential gene expression in right vs left retina after 6 hours of light exposure. This difference disappeared before 24 hours of light exposure, suggesting that light-induced activation is a self-terminating phenomenon. This transient effect of light exposure was associated with a downregulation of the sensitive-period mediator gene DIO2 (iodothyronine deiodinase 2) in the right retina. No differences between genes expressed in the right vs. left telencephalon were detected. Gene networks associated with lateralisation were connected to vascularisation, cell motility, and the extracellular matrix. Interestingly, we know that the extracellular matrix - including the differentially expressed PDGFRB (platelet-derived growth factor receptor β) gene - is involved in both sensitive periods and in the endogenous chiral mechanism of primary cilia, that drives lateralisation. Our data show a similarity between endogenous and experience-driven lateralisation, identifying functional gene networks that affect lateralisation in a specific time window.

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Spontaneous and light-induced lateralization of immediate early genes expression in domestic chicks

Cited by 28 publications

References 76 publications

Activation of the Nucleus Taeniae of the Amygdala by Umami Taste in Domestic Chicks (Gallus gallus)

Activation of the Nucleus Taeniae of the Amygdala by Umami Taste in Domestic Chicks (Gallus gallus)

Light-incubation effects on lateralisation of single unit responses in the visual Wulst of domestic chicks

Light-induced asymmetries in the embryonic retina are mediated by the vascular system and extracellular matrix

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