Role of the tectal and posterior commissures in lateralization of the avian brain

Parsons, C.H.; Rogers, Lesley J.

doi:10.1016/0166-4328(93)90074-z

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…In contrast, chicks with sectioned inter-hemispheric commissures showed no habituation of bead pecking. These results suggest that one function of the commissures is to decrease lateralization by conveying inhibiting signals from the hemisphere that is ipsilateral to the stimulated eye (Parsons and Rogers 1993). Neuro-anatomical and behavioral studies of the reptilian brain (Shanklin 1930;Goldby and Gamble 1957) and the functions of its commissures in inter-hemispheric transfer of visual information are rather lacking.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Threat perception in the chameleon (Chamaeleo chameleon): evidence for lateralized eye use

2012

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Chameleons are arboreal lizards with highly independent, large amplitude eye movements. In response to an approaching threat, a chameleon on a vertical pole moves so as to keep itself away from the threat. In so doing, it shifts between monocular and binocular scanning of the threat and of the environment. We analyzed eye movements in the Common chameleon, Chamaeleo chameleon, during avoidance response for lateralization, that is, asymmetry at the functional/behavioral levels. The chameleons were exposed to a threat, approaching horizontally from clockwise or anti-clockwise directions, and that could be viewed monocularly or binocularly. Our results show three broad patterns of eye use, as determined by durations spent viewing the threat and by frequency of eye shifts. Under binocular viewing, two of the patterns were found to be both side dependent, that is, lateralized and role dependent ("leading" or "following"). However, under monocular viewing, no such lateralization was detected. We discuss these findings in light of the situation not uncommon in vertebrates, of independent eye movements and a high degree of optic nerve decussation and that lateralization may well occur in organisms that are regularly exposed to critical stimuli from all spatial directions. We point to the need of further investigating lateralization at fine behavioral levels.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…In fishes, amphibians and reptiles, the commissures between the brain hemispheres are relatively minimal while in birds connectivity is extensive. In mammals, a large commissural pathway, the corpus callosum, provides the main bridge of information transfer between the hemispheres (Güntürkün and Böhringer 1987;Parsons and Rogers 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Threat perception in the chameleon (Chamaeleo chameleon): evidence for lateralized eye use

2012

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“…The optic tecta on each side of the brain are linked by a tectal commissure (TC) and crossing the midline right alongside the TC is the PC. Sectioning the TC/PC commissural system of the chick brain, on day two post-hatching, leads to lateralization of one particular type of visual behaviour [98]. When, on day five or six after hatching, the chicks were tested monocularly by presenting them with a small red bead, which stimulates pecking, unoperated chicks and sham-operated chicks pecked at the bead and did so on average only once each time it was presented (for 15 s and on eight times to each eye): no lateralization was apparent.…”

Section: Interhemispheric Communication and Lateralizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Matter of Degree: Strength of Brain Asymmetry and Behaviour

Rogers

2017

Symmetry

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Abstract:Research on a growing number of vertebrate species has shown that the left and right sides of the brain process information in different ways and that lateralized brain function is expressed in both specific and broad aspects of behaviour. This paper reviews the available evidence relating strength of lateralization to behavioural/cognitive performance. It begins by considering the relationship between limb preference and behaviour in humans and primates from the perspectives of direction and strength of lateralization. In birds, eye preference is used as a reflection of brain asymmetry and the strength of this asymmetry is associated with behaviour important for survival (e.g., visual discrimination of food from non-food and performance of two tasks in parallel). The same applies to studies on aquatic species, mainly fish but also tadpoles, in which strength of lateralization has been assessed as eye preferences or turning biases. Overall, the empirical evidence across vertebrate species points to the conclusion that stronger lateralization is advantageous in a wide range of contexts. Brief discussion of interhemispheric communication follows together with discussion of experiments that examined the effects of sectioning pathways connecting the left and right sides of the brain, or of preventing the development of these left-right connections. The conclusion reached is that degree of functional lateralization affects behaviour in quite similar ways across vertebrate species. Although the direction of lateralization is also important, in many situations strength of lateralization matters more. Finally, possible interactions between asymmetry in different sensory modalities is considered.

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“…This reversal of laterality is proportional to the number of transected fibers (Güntürkün & Böhringer, 1987). If a cerebral asymmetry is reversed by tectal commissurotomy, it is likely that this asymmetry was previously maintained at least in part by asymmetrical interactions between the tecta (but see Parsons & Rogers, 1993), which are known to primarily inhibit each other (Robert & Cuénod, 1969;Hardy et al, 1984). Keysers et al (1999) tested this hypothesis by recording field potentials from intratectal electrodes in response to a stroboscope flash to the contralateral eye and an electrical stimulation of the contralateral tectum.…”

Section: Visual Lateralization: Static or Dynamic?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lateralized Interhemispheric Transfer of Color Cues: Evidence for Dynamic Coding Principles of Visual Lateralization in Pigeons

et al. 2000

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Role of the tectal and posterior commissures in lateralization of the avian brain

Cited by 20 publications

References 32 publications

Threat perception in the chameleon (Chamaeleo chameleon): evidence for lateralized eye use

Threat perception in the chameleon (Chamaeleo chameleon): evidence for lateralized eye use

A Matter of Degree: Strength of Brain Asymmetry and Behaviour

Lateralized Interhemispheric Transfer of Color Cues: Evidence for Dynamic Coding Principles of Visual Lateralization in Pigeons

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