Abstract
A number of research attempts to understand and modulate sensory and motor skills that are beyond the capability of humans have been underway. They have mainly been expounded in rodent models, where numerous reports of controlling movement to reach target locations by brain stimulation have been achieved. However, in the case of birds, although basic research on movement control has been conducted, the brain nuclei that are triggering these movements have yet to be established. In order to fully control flight navigation in birds, the basic central nervous system involved in flight behavior should be understood comprehensively, and functional maps of the birds’ brains to study the possibility of flight control need to be clarified. Here, we established a stable stereotactic surgery to implant multi-wire electrode arrays and electrically stimulated several nuclei of the pigeon’s brain. A multi-channel electrode array and a wireless stimulation system were implanted in thirteen pigeons. The pigeons’ flight trajectories on electrical stimulation of the cerebral nuclei were monitored and analyzed by a 3D motion tracking program to evaluate the behavioral change, and the exact stimulation site in the brain was confirmed by the postmortem histological examination. Among them, five pigeons were able to induce right and left body turns by stimulating the nuclei of the tractus occipito-mesencephalicus (OM), nucleus taeniae (TN), or nucleus rotundus (RT); the nuclei of tractus septo-mesencephalicus (TSM) or archistriatum ventrale (AV) were stimulated to induce flight aviation for flapping and take-off with five pigeons.
Highlights
IntroductionThe nerve nucleus of the pigeon’s midbrain was electrically stimulated to induce flight control movements, such as forward step, take-off, and body rotation [22]
The pigeons landed on a perch at the end of their flight electrode could be localized in three cases by the postmortem histological evaluation, and regardless of the flying path, and they usually flew straight toward the perch (Figure 3d,e)
We stimulated previously reported brain nuclei [19,22,24,25,27,28,31] related to pigeon flight to verify the accuracy of our stereotactic surgery technique and further applied electrical stimulation in other nuclei to examine related flight control regions
Summary
The nerve nucleus of the pigeon’s midbrain was electrically stimulated to induce flight control movements, such as forward step, take-off, and body rotation [22]. Multi-array microelectrodes that are inserted at once and shorten the time of surgery succeeded in inducing pigeons’ body turns and forward walks on the ground using a wireless stimulation module [19,31]. Such a system in combination with GPS tracking succeeded in controlling left and right aviation [27]. One group recorded brain stimulation experiments in pigeons with a ceiling-mounted camera and analyzed the flight paths quantitatively by changing the stimulation parameters and comparing the trajectories without stimulation [24]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
