Visual lateralization and monocular sleep in the domestic chick

Mascetti, Gian Gastone; Rugger, Marina; Vallortígara, Giorgio

doi:10.1016/s0926-6410(98)00053-6

Cited by 34 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Therefore, there is strong evidence to argue for contralateral hemispheric sleep on the basis of the pattern of eye closure. We have recently confirmed and extended Rogers and Chaffey's results (see Mascetti, Rugger, & Vallortigara, 1999). Behavioral sleep during the first 2 weeks of life was investigated in female chicks reared with an imprinting object or in social (visual) isolation.…”

Section: An Eye For a Change? Monocular Sleeping In Chickssupporting

confidence: 78%

Comparative Neuropsychology of the Dual Brain: A Stroll through Animals' Left and Right Perceptual Worlds

2000

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Section: An Eye For a Change? Monocular Sleeping In Chickssupporting

confidence: 78%

Comparative Neuropsychology of the Dual Brain: A Stroll through Animals' Left and Right Perceptual Worlds

2000

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“…Several studies from a variety of bird species (including adult pigeons) have shown that each hemisphere is specialized to perform certain cognitive functions [e.g., Gün-türkün et al, 2000;reviewed in Rogers, 1996;Vallortigara, 2000]. In young chickens, functional lateralization appears to be related to asymmetries in hemispheric sleep time; during the second week of life, chickens show a bias at the population level for sleeping with the left eye closed, thus indicating more SWS in the right hemisphere Chaffey, 1994, cited in Rogers, 1995;Mascetti et al, 1999]. Moreover, environmental factors known to affect the direction (i.e., left vs. right) of functional lateralization in chickens have a similar effect on the preference for closing one eye more than the other [Mascetti and Vallortigara, 2001].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unilateral Eye Closure and Interhemispheric EEG Asymmetry during Sleep in the Pigeon <i>(Columba livia)</i>

Rattenborg

Amlaner

Lima³

2001

Brain Behav Evol

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Aquatic mammals (i.e., Cetaceans, eared seals and manatees) and birds show interhemispheric asymmetries (IA) in slow-wave sleep-related electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, suggesting that the depth of sleep differs between hemispheres. In birds, an association between unilateral eye closure and IA has been reported in five species from three orders (i.e., Galliformes, Charadriiformes, and Anseriformes). Moreover, unilateral eye closure has been observed during behaviorally defined sleep in 29 species from 13 avian orders, suggesting that birds in general display IA during sleep. Despite the apparent prevalence of unilateral eye closure and IA in birds, previous work did not detect IA in the pigeon, thereby challenging the conclusion that this is a general feature of birds. Using digital period amplitude analysis, an objective method for quantifying EEG power (a measure of wave amplitude) across different frequencies, we demonstrate that pigeons do, in fact, display an association between unilateral eye closure and IA. For a given hemisphere, standardized 2–4 Hz EEG power was greater when the contralateral eye was closed when compared to open. We also found that pigeons used the open eye during IA to monitor their environment. In addition, individual pigeons showed a bias for keeping one eye open more than the other. The direction (left vs. right) of this bias differed across birds, and appeared to be influenced by the structure of the surrounding environment. Finally, with the addition of pigeons (order Columbiformes), IA associated with unilateral eye closure has been recorded in four avian orders, suggesting that this form of sleep is widespread in birds.

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“…There is one field of research in which evidence for this latter hypothesis could be easily collected, namely that of unihemispheric sleep. Birds exhibit a unique behavioral and electrophysiological state called monocular or unihemispheric sleep (Bobbo et al 2002;Mascetti et al 1999;Rogers & Chaffey 1994). During normal sleep, they have short periods of time in which one eye is open and the contralateral hemisphere shows an EEG pattern typical of wakefulness (fast and low voltage waves), whereas the other eye remains closed and an EEG pattern of slow wave sleep (slow and high voltage waves) can be recorded in the contralateral hemisphere (Bobbo et al 2002).…”

Section: Further Hypotheses: Do Animals Actively Manipulate Environmementioning

confidence: 99%

survival with an asymmetrical brain: advantages and disadvantages of cerebral lateralization

2005

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Recent evidence in natural and semi-natural settings has revealed a variety of left-right perceptual asymmetries among vertebrates. These include preferential use of the left or right visual hemifield during activities such as searching for food, agonistic responses, or escape from predators in animals as different as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. There are obvious disadvantages in showing such directional asymmetries because relevant stimuli may be located to the animal's left or right at random; there is no a priori association between the meaning of a stimulus (e.g., its being a predator or a food item) and its being located to the animal's left or right. Moreover, other organisms (e.g., predators) could exploit the predictability of behavior that arises from population-level lateral biases. It might be argued that lateralization of function enhances cognitive capacity and efficiency of the brain, thus counteracting the ecological disadvantages of lateral biases in behavior. However, such an increase in brain efficiency could be obtained by each individual being lateralized without any need to align the direction of the asymmetry in the majority of the individuals of the population. Here we argue that the alignment of the direction of behavioral asymmetries at the population level arises as an "evolutionarily stable strategy" under "social" pressures occurring when individually asymmetrical organisms must coordinate their behavior with the behavior of other asymmetrical organisms of the same or different species.

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Visual lateralization and monocular sleep in the domestic chick

Cited by 34 publications

References 44 publications

Comparative Neuropsychology of the Dual Brain: A Stroll through Animals' Left and Right Perceptual Worlds

Comparative Neuropsychology of the Dual Brain: A Stroll through Animals' Left and Right Perceptual Worlds

Unilateral Eye Closure and Interhemispheric EEG Asymmetry during Sleep in the Pigeon <i>(Columba livia)</i>

survival with an asymmetrical brain: advantages and disadvantages of cerebral lateralization

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