Light exposure of the chick embryo influences monocular sleep

Bobbo, Daniela; Galvani, Federico; Mascetti, Gian Gastone; Vallortígara, Giorgio

doi:10.1016/s0166-4328(02)00059-1

Cited by 33 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…So, functional asymmetries are present in dark-incubated birds, but when the embryos have been exposed to light, the endogenous asymmetry pattern can change. Light levels an inherent asymmetry in detouring an obstacle to reach a target29, reverses the left-right direction of eye opening during post-hatching sleep in chicks3031, and the preferential access to transfer information in pigeons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shaping a lateralized brain: Asymmetrical light experience modulates access to visual interhemispheric information in pigeons

Letzner

Patzke

Verhaal

et al. 2014

Sci Rep

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Cerebral asymmetries result from hemispheric specialization and interhemispheric communication pattern that develop in close gene-environment interactions. To gain a deeper understanding of developmental and functional interrelations, we investigated interhemispheric information exchange in pigeons, which possess a lateralized visual system that develops in response to asymmetrical ontogenetic light stimulation. We monocularly trained pigeons with or without embryonic light experience in color discriminations whereby they learned another pair of colors with each eye. Thereby, information from the ipsilateral eye had to be transferred. Monocular tests confronting the animals with trained and transferred color pairs demonstrated that embryonic light stimulation modulates the balance of asymmetrical handling of transfer information. Stronger embryonic stimulation of the left hemisphere significantly enhanced access to interhemispheric visual information, thereby reversing the right-hemispheric advantage that develops in the absence of embryonic light experience. These data support the critical role of environmental factors in molding a functionally lateralized brain.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shaping a lateralized brain: Asymmetrical light experience modulates access to visual interhemispheric information in pigeons

Letzner

Patzke

Verhaal

et al. 2014

Sci Rep

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“…parrots (Rogers and Workman 1993). Only minimal light exposure is required to establish this lateralization (Rogers 1982, Bobbo et al 2002, Buschmann et al 2006). Widespread natural incubation patterns with only short parental recesses (Skutch 1976, Deeming 2002b), would therefore be sufficient to generate the lateralization of the embryo. The performance in behavioural tasks can be determined by the wavelength of the light the egg was exposed to during incubation (Rogers and Krebs 1996).…”

Section: Functional Asymmetry and Lateralization Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: an embryo's eye view of avian eggshell pigmentation

Maurer¹,

Portugal²,

Cassey³

2011

Journal of Avian Biology

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Current research into the evolution and adaptive function of avian eggshell pigmentation, including maculation, has focused mostly on signalling‐based and structural function hypotheses but ignored the potential consequences of shell pigmentation for the developing avian embryo, especially in moderating the embryo's interaction with its light environment. The exposure of the eggs to sunlight that frequently accompanies avian incubation behaviour is one of the major evolutionary steps setting apart birds and reptiles, and coincides with the appearance of eggshell pigmentation. This suggests that shell pigments could play a major role in ensuring the successful development of the avian embryo. We propose that the effects of shell pigments on the egg contents should be considered in addition to established hypotheses of shell pigmentation such as crypsis, egg recognition or a possible structural function. This approach has the potential to identify trade‐offs between different pigment functions and to resolve some of the long standing paradoxa in the evolution of eggshell colour, such as the occurrence of conspicuous blue eggs in passerines or the secondary evolution of white eggshells in cavity nesters. In particular, we identify seven hypotheses, which address how the interaction of eggshell pigments and the light environment may influence embryonic development. These hypotheses are the: thermo‐regulation; UV‐B protection; photo‐acceleration; lateralization; circadian rhythm; photo‐reactivation; and antimicrobial defence. We believe that the understanding of eggshell pigmentation will greatly benefit from taking these hypotheses into consideration when studying the functional significance of eggshell pigmentation and suggest a number of promising directions for future experimental and comparative research.

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“…Electrophysiological recordings revealed that the hemisphere contra-lateral to the open eye shows an EEG with fast waves typical of wakefulness, whilst the EEG in hemisphere contra-lateral to the closed eye shows a typical pattern of slow wave sleep. Bilateral eye closure is associated with bihemispheric slow wave and REM sleep as widely reported (Ookawa and Takagi 1968;Ookawa 1971;Ball et al 1988;Rattenborg et al 1999;Bobbo et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…The eggs were incubated in the laboratory, in an automatically turning incubator FIEM snc, MG 100H (45 £ 58 £ 43 cm), under constant temperature (37.7°C), humidity (about 50-60%) and in darkness because previous studies showed that light stimulation in ovo aVects the pattern of Mo-Un sleep (Bobbo et al 2002). We used 8-dayold chicks because they show a consistent pattern of sleep behaviour during the second week post-hatching and stable feeding and drinking behaviour.…”

Section: Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Monocular learning of a spatial task enhances sleep in the right hemisphere of domestic chicks (Gallus gallus)

2012

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Unihemispheric sleep is an aspect of cerebral lateralization of birds. During sleep, domestic chicks show brief periods during which one eye is open whilst the other remains shut. In this study, time spent in sleeping and in monocular-unihemispheric sleep (Mo-Un sleep) was investigated following the monocular learning of a spatial discrimination task. Two groups of experimental chicks from day 8 to day 11 post-hatching were trained in a spatial paradigm based on geometrical and topographical clues. One group performed the task with left eye open (LE-chicks), whilst another group performed the task with the right eye open (RE-chicks). LE-chick learned the task, whilst RE-chicks were unable to learn. Time spent in binocular sleep and right Mo-Un sleep (right eye closed and left hemisphere sleeping) was equal in both groups of chicks. Time spent in left Mo-Un sleep (left eye closed and right hemisphere sleeping) was significantly higher in LE-chicks than in RE-chicks. Laterality index reveals that LE-chicks had a significant bias towards more left Mo-Un sleep at any recording day, whilst RE-chicks showed a significant bias towards more right Mo-Un sleep at day 8 and 9 but not at days 10 and 11. RE-chick bias at days 8 and 9 could be attributed to a recovery process in left hemisphere connected to its activation/use effect during trials whilst recovery would be absent at days 10 and 11. LE-chicks bias would be associated with the formation of a spatial memory trace and with a recovery process in right hemisphere.

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Light exposure of the chick embryo influences monocular sleep

Cited by 33 publications

References 37 publications

Shaping a lateralized brain: Asymmetrical light experience modulates access to visual interhemispheric information in pigeons

Shaping a lateralized brain: Asymmetrical light experience modulates access to visual interhemispheric information in pigeons

Review: an embryo's eye view of avian eggshell pigmentation

Monocular learning of a spatial task enhances sleep in the right hemisphere of domestic chicks (Gallus gallus)

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