Night-migratory songbirds can use geomagnetic information to navigate over thousands of kilometres with great precision. A crucial part of the magnetic 'map' information used by night-migratory songbirds is conveyed via the ophthalmic branches of the trigeminal nerves to the trigeminal brainstem complex, where magnetic-driven neuronal activation has been observed. However, it is not known how this information reaches the forebrain for further processing. Here, we show that the magnetically activated region in the trigeminal brainstem of migratory Eurasian blackcaps () represents a morphologically distinctive neuronal population with an exclusive and previously undescribed projection to the telencephalic frontal nidopallium. This projection is clearly different from the known trigeminal somatosensory pathway that we also confirmed both by neuronal tracing and by a thorough morphometric analysis of projecting neurons. The new pathway we identified here represents part of a brain circuit that-based on the known nidopallial connectivities in birds-could potentially transmit magnetic 'map' information to key multisensory integration centres in the brain known to be critically involved in spatial memory formation, cognition and/or controlling executive behaviour, such as navigation, in birds.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7015334 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.2788 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Species-specific circuitry of double cone photoreceptors in two avian retinas.
Commun Biol
August 2024
Department of Computational Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior-caesar, Bonn, Germany.
In most avian retinas, double cones (consisting of a principal and accessory member) outnumber other photoreceptor types and have been associated with various functions, such as encoding luminance, sensing polarized light, and magnetoreception. However, their down-stream circuitry is poorly understood, particularly across bird species. Analysing species differences is important to understand changes in circuitry driven by ecological adaptations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActivation of Cryptochrome 4 from Atlantic Herring.
Biology (Basel)
April 2024
Institute of Physics, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky Straße 9-11, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany.
Marine fish migrate long distances up to hundreds or even thousands of kilometers for various reasons that include seasonal dependencies, feeding, or reproduction. The ability to perceive the geomagnetic field, called magnetoreception, is one of the many mechanisms allowing some fish to navigate reliably in the aquatic realm. While it is believed that the photoreceptor protein cryptochrome 4 (Cry4) is the key component for the radical pair-based magnetoreception mechanism in night migratory songbirds, the Cry4 mechanism in fish is still largely unexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNight-time neuronal activation of Cluster N in a North American songbird.
PLoS One
March 2024
Biology Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America.
Night-migrating songbirds utilize the Earth's magnetic field to help navigate to and from their breeding sites each year. A region of the avian forebrain called Cluster N has been shown to be activated during night migratory behavior and it has been implicated in processing geomagnetic information. Previous studies with night-migratory European songbirds have shown that neuronal activity at Cluster N is higher at night than during the day.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNo evidence for magnetic field effects on the behaviour of Drosophila.
Nature
August 2023
AG Neurosensory Sciences/Animal Navigation, Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl-von-Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.
Migratory songbirds have the remarkable ability to extract directional information from the Earth's magnetic field. The exact mechanism of this light-dependent magnetic compass sense, however, is not fully understood. The most promising hypothesis focuses on the quantum spin dynamics of transient radical pairs formed in cryptochrome proteins in the retina.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUpper bound for broadband radiofrequency field disruption of magnetic compass orientation in night-migratory songbirds.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
July 2023
Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom.
Night-migratory songbirds have a light-dependent magnetic compass sense, the mechanism of which is thought to depend on the photochemical formation of radical pairs in cryptochrome (Cry) proteins located in the retina. The finding that weak radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields can prevent birds from orienting in the Earth's magnetic field has been regarded as a diagnostic test for this mechanism and as a potential source of information on the identities of the radicals. The maximum frequency that could cause such disorientation has been predicted to lie between 120 and 220 MHz for a flavin-tryptophan radical pair in Cry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!