scholarly journals Lateralization of magnetic compass orientation in pigeons

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Wilzeck ◽  
Wolfgang Wiltschko ◽  
Onur Güntürkün ◽  
Roswitha Wiltschko ◽  
Helmut Prior
Keyword(s):  
Operant Chamber ◽  
Magnetic Compass ◽  
Compass Orientation ◽  
Brain Hemisphere ◽  
Brain Hemispheres ◽  
Left Brain ◽  
Right Brain ◽  
Magnetic Compass Orientation ◽  
Operant Task ◽  
The Right

The aim of our study was to test for lateralization of magnetic compass orientation in pigeons. Having shown that pigeons are capable of learning magnetic compass directions in an operant task, we wanted to know whether the brain hemispheres contribute differently and how the lateralization pattern relates to findings in other avian species. Birds that had learnt to locate food in an operant chamber by means of magnetic directions were tested for lateralization of magnetic compass orientation by temporarily covering one eye. Successful orientation occurred under all conditions of viewing. Thus, pigeons can perceive and process magnetic compass directions with the right eye and left brain hemisphere as well as the left eye and right brain hemisphere. However, while the right brain hemisphere tended to confuse the learned direction with its opposite (axial response), the left brain hemisphere specifically preferred the correct direction. Our findings demonstrate bilateral processing of magnetic information, but also suggest qualitative differences in how the left and the right brain deal with magnetic cues.

Orientation and lateralized cue use in pigeons navigating a large indoor environment

2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (12) ◽  
pp. 1795-1805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut Prior ◽  
Frank Lingenauber ◽  
Jörg Nitschke ◽  
Onur Güntürkün
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frame ◽  
Brain Lateralization ◽  
Spatial Cues ◽  
Brain Hemisphere ◽  
Brain Hemispheres ◽  
Left Brain ◽  
Right Brain ◽  
Starting Location ◽  
The Right ◽  
Global Reference Frame

SUMMARY The pigeon's use of different visuo-spatial cues was studied under controlled laboratory conditions that simulated analogous aspects of a homing situation. The birds first learned the route to a goal that was not visible from the starting location, but became visible as it was approached. Birds could orientate within a mainly geometric global reference frame, using prominent landmarks within their range, or by `piloting' along local cues. After learning the route, the birds were tested from familiar and unfamiliar release points, and several aspects of the available cues were varied systematically. The study explored the contribution of the left and right brain hemispheres by performing tests with the right or left eye occluded. The results show that pigeons can establish accurate bearings towards a non-visible goal by using a global reference frame only. Furthermore, there was a peak of searching activity at the location predicted by the global reference frame. Search at this location and directedness of the bearings were equally high with both right and left eye, suggesting that both brain hemispheres have the same competence level for these components of the task. A lateralization effect occurred when prominent landmarks were removed or translated. While the right brain hemisphere completely ignored such changes,the left brain hemisphere was distracted by removal of landmarks. After translation of landmarks, the left but not the right brain hemisphere allocated part of the searching activity to the site predicted by the new landmark position. The results show that a mainly geometric global visual reference frame is sufficient to determine exact bearings from familiar and unfamiliar release points. Overall, the results suggest a model of brain lateralization with a well-developed global spatial reference system in either hemisphere and an extra capacity for the processing of object features in the left brain.

Lateralisation of magnetic compass orientation in silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Wiltschko ◽  
Ursula Munro ◽  
Hugh Ford ◽  
Roswitha Wiltschko
Keyword(s):  
Geomagnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Compass ◽  
Compass Orientation ◽  
Directional Information ◽  
Zosterops Lateralis ◽  
Magnetic Compass Orientation ◽  
Directional Preference ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Brain ◽  
The Magnetic Field

The ability of migratory silvereyes to orient was tested in the geomagnetic field with one eye covered. Silvereyes using only their right eye were able to orient in migratory direction just as well as birds using both eyes. Using only their left eye, however, the birds did not show a significant directional preference. These data indicate that directional information from the magnetic field is mediated almost exclusively by the right eye and processed by the left hemisphere of the brain. Together with corresponding findings from European robins and indications for a similar phenomenon in homing pigeons, they suggest that a strong lateralisation of the magnetic compass is widespread among birds.

scholarly journals Night-migratory garden warblers can orient with their magnetic compass using the left, the right or both eyes

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Maira Hein ◽  
Manuela Zapka ◽  
Dominik Heyers ◽  
Sandra Kutzschbauch ◽  
Nils-Lasse Schneider ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Compass ◽  
Compass Orientation ◽  
Orientation Behaviour ◽  
Eyes Open ◽  
Magnetic Compass Orientation ◽  
Migratory Songbird ◽  
Sylvia Borin ◽  
The Right

Several studies have suggested that the magnetic compass of birds is located only in the right eye. However, here we show that night-migrating garden warblers ( Sylvia borin ) are able to perform magnetic compass orientation with both eyes open, with only the left eye open and with only the right eye open. We did not observe any clear lateralization of magnetic compass orientation behaviour in this migratory songbird, and, therefore, it seems that the suggested all-or-none lateralization of magnetic compass orientation towards the right eye only cannot be generalized to all birds, and that the answer to the question of whether magnetic compass orientation in birds is lateralized is probably not as simple as suggested previously.

scholarly journals Development of lateralization of the magnetic compass in a migratory bird

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1745) ◽  
pp. 4230-4235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Gehring ◽  
Wolfgang Wiltschko ◽  
Onur Güntürkün ◽  
Susanne Denzau ◽  
Roswitha Wiltschko
Keyword(s):  
Geomagnetic Field ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Magnetic Compass ◽  
The Other ◽  
Maturation Process ◽  
Erithacus Rubecula ◽  
European Robin ◽  
Brain Hemisphere ◽  
Left Brain ◽  
The Right

The magnetic compass of a migratory bird, the European robin ( Erithacus rubecula ), was shown to be lateralized in favour of the right eye/left brain hemisphere. However, this seems to be a property of the avian magnetic compass that is not present from the beginning, but develops only as the birds grow older. During first migration in autumn, juvenile robins can orient by their magnetic compass with their right as well as with their left eye. In the following spring, however, the magnetic compass is already lateralized, but this lateralization is still flexible: it could be removed by covering the right eye for 6 h. During the following autumn migration, the lateralization becomes more strongly fixed, with a 6 h occlusion of the right eye no longer having an effect. This change from a bilateral to a lateralized magnetic compass appears to be a maturation process, the first such case known so far in birds. Because both eyes mediate identical information about the geomagnetic field, brain asymmetry for the magnetic compass could increase efficiency by setting the other hemisphere free for other processes.

Auditory and Magnetic Compass Orientation in C57BL/6 mice

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Phillips ◽  
R. Muheim ◽  
N. M. Edgar ◽  
K. S. Sloan
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Compass ◽  
Compass Orientation ◽  
Magnetic Compass Orientation

Teaching Drawing as a Code or Diagram—Mirror or Map—, and Its Correlation with the Right or Left Brain Hemispheres

2017 ◽  
pp. 555-563
Author(s):  
Aurelio Vallespín Muniesa ◽  
Noelia Cervero Sánchez ◽  
Victoria González Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Brain Hemispheres ◽  
Left Brain ◽  
The Right

scholarly journals Lateralization correlates with individual differences in inhibitory control in zebrafish

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 20200296
Author(s):  
Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato ◽  
Giulia Montalbano ◽  
Marco Dadda ◽  
Cristiano Bertolucci
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Differences ◽  
Cerebral Lateralization ◽  
Brain Hemisphere ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Left Brain ◽  
Selection For ◽  
The Right ◽  
Selection Mechanisms

Individual fitness often depends on the ability to inhibit behaviours not adapted to a given situation. However, inhibitory control can vary greatly between individuals of the same species. We investigated a mechanism that might maintain this variability in zebrafish ( Danio rerio ). We demonstrate that inhibitory control correlates with cerebral lateralization, the tendency to process information with one brain hemisphere or the other. Individuals that preferentially observed a social stimulus with the right eye and thus processed social information with the left brain hemisphere, inhibited foraging behaviour more efficiently. Therefore, selective pressures that maintain lateralization variability in populations might provide indirect selection for variability in inhibitory control. Our study suggests that individual cognitive differences may result from complex multi-trait selection mechanisms.

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