Homing pigeons were subjected to ei- ther hippocampal or control anterior forebrain ab- lations to examine what role the hippocampus and related structures may play in homing behavior. One year after surgery, the test birds were released from five locations where they had never been be- fore. Both groups were successful in orienting ho- meward from the release sites, indicating that the hippocampus is not necessary for the neural regu- lation of a pigeon's map and compass system. Nonetheless, hippocampal ablated pigeons were significantly poorer with respect to the time re- quired to return home, indicating a homing perfor- mance impairment. Alternative hypotheses are dis- cussed to explain this result, the most parsimoni- ous being impaired ability on the part of the hippo- campal ablated birds to direct a course homeward
Hippocampal ablated homing pigeons show a persistent impairment in the time taken to return home
CASINI, GIOVANNI;BAGNOLI, PAOLA
1988-01-01
Abstract
Homing pigeons were subjected to ei- ther hippocampal or control anterior forebrain ab- lations to examine what role the hippocampus and related structures may play in homing behavior. One year after surgery, the test birds were released from five locations where they had never been be- fore. Both groups were successful in orienting ho- meward from the release sites, indicating that the hippocampus is not necessary for the neural regu- lation of a pigeon's map and compass system. Nonetheless, hippocampal ablated pigeons were significantly poorer with respect to the time re- quired to return home, indicating a homing perfor- mance impairment. Alternative hypotheses are dis- cussed to explain this result, the most parsimoni- ous being impaired ability on the part of the hippo- campal ablated birds to direct a course homewardI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
