Extracellular Recordings Reveal Absence of Magneto Sensitive Units in the Avian Optic Tectum

Overview

Journal J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol

Publisher Springer

Specialties Neurology
Social Sciences

Date 2014 Oct 5

PMID 25281335

Citations 6

Authors

Edgardo Ramirez

Gonzalo Marin

Jorge Mpodozis

Juan-Carlos Letelier

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

There is a consensus that birds detect the earth's magnetic field and use some of its features for orientation and homing purposes. Since the late 1960s, when the first solid behavioral evidence of magnetoreception was obtained, much research has been devoted to describing the ethological aspects of this behavior. The neurophysiological basis of magnetoreception has been much less studied, although a frequently cited 1986 report described a high prevalence (70 %) of magneto-sensitive neurons in the pigeon optic tectum with high signal-to-noise ratios (Semm and Demaine, J Comp Physiol A 159:619-625, 1986). Here, we repeated these neurophysiological experiments using anesthetized as well as awake pigeons and new recording techniques. Our data indicate that magneto-sensitive units do not exist in the avian tectum.

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