Network structure of functional hippocampal lateralization in birds |
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| Authors: | Elisabeth Jonckers Onur Güntürkün Geert De Groof Annemie Van der Linden Verner P Bingman |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Bio‐Imaging Laboratory, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium;2. Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr‐University Bochum, Bochum, Germany;3. Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio;4. J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio |
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| Abstract: | Functional hemispheric asymmetry is a common feature of vertebrate brain organization, yet little is known about how hemispheric dominance is implemented at the neural level. One notable example of hemispheric dominance in birds is the leading role of the left hippocampal formation in controlling navigational processes that support homing in pigeons. Relying on resting state fMRI analyses (where Functional connectivity (FC) can be determined by placing a reference ‘seed’ for connectivity in one hemisphere), we show that following seeding in either an anterior or posterior region of the hippocampal formation of homing pigeons and starlings, the emergent FC maps are consistently larger following seeding of the left hippocampus. Left seedings are also more likely to result in FC maps that extend to the contralateral hippocampus and outside the boundaries of the hippocampus. The data support the hypothesis that broader FC is one neural‐organizational property that confers, with respect to navigation, functional dominance to the left hippocampus of birds. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
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| Keywords: | functional connectivity resting state fMRI hemispheric dominance |
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