Abstract
The tectofugal pathway in birds goes from the optic tectum to the telencephalic entopallium via the thalamic nucleus rotundus (nRt). This pathway may be homologous to the colliculo-pulvinar-cortical pathway in mammals. It is known that a population of rotundal neurons in the pigeon can signal impending collision of looming objects with the animal. Here we show by single-unit recording that there exist two groups of looming-sensitive neurons in the entopallium. A tau cell starts firing at a nearly constant time before collision whereas the response onset time of an eta cell is linearly related to the square root of the diameter/velocity ratio of looming objects. These cells are localized in the caudal entopallium. The receptive field (RF) of looming-sensitive cells was mapped on the screen plane but its inhibitory region could not suppress responses to looming objects. It appears that a population of telencephalic cells in pigeons responds to looming objects and their looming responses are not determined by the receptive field organization mapped on the screen plane.
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