Navigation Links
Migratory songbirds have a specialized night-vision brain area

Neurobiologists have discovered a specialized night-vision brain area in night-migratory songbirds. They believe the area might enable the birds to navigate by the stars, and to visually detect the earth's magnetic field through photoreceptor molecules, whose light-sensitivity is modulated by the field.

The researchers published their findings May 23, 2005, in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The collaboration was led by Henrik Mouritsen of the University of Oldenberg in Germany and Erich Jarvis of the Duke University Medical Center. Other co-authors were Gesa Feenders and Miriam Liedvogel in Mouritsen's laboratory and Kazuhiro Wada in Jarvis's laboratory. The research was supported by the VolkswagenStiftung to Mouritsen and the National Science Foundation's Waterman Award to Jarvis.

To migrate successfully over thousands of miles at night, night-migratory birds need to see where they fly, as well as navigate by stars and the earth's magnetic field. Surprisingly, Jarvis said, recent scientific evidence has suggested that birds have specialized molecules in their visual system that translate magnetic compass information into visual patterns. Thus, , the researchers hypothesized that night migratory birds would need a specialized night-vision brain area.

"There was no evidence of such a specialized region in night migratory birds before we began this research," Jarvis said.

In their study, the researchers compared two species of night-migratory songbirds -- garden warblers and European robins -- with two non-migratory songbirds -- zebra finches and canaries.

Using a transparent cylindrical cage in Mouritsen's laboratory, they first accustomed the birds to the illumination equivalent of moonlight. They waited until the birds were sitting quietly to eliminate brain activity from movement. The researchers then quickly preserved the birds' brains, and in Jarvis's laboratory analyzed the
'"/>

Source:Duke University Medical Center


Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Displaced songbirds navigate in the high Arctic
2. Bats prey on nocturnally migrating songbirds
3. Personality-gene makes songbirds curious
4. UCSD team discovers specialized, rare heart stem cells in newborns
5. Controversial drug shown to act on brain protein to cut alcohol use
6. Mouse brain cells rapidly recover after Alzheimers plaques are cleared
7. Mouse brain tumors mimic those in human genetic disorder
8. New imaging method gives early indication if brain cancer therapy is effective, U-M study shows
9. First atlas of key brain genes could speed research on cancer, neurological diseases
10. NYU study reveals how brains immune system fights viral encephalitis
11. Stem cells from brain transformed to produce insulin at Stanford
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Migratory songbirds have specialized night vision brain area

(Date:5/23/2013)... in treating cerebral palsy with autologous cord blood. Following ... year old boy had been in a persistent vegetative ... months after treatment with the cord blood containing stem ... the child learned to speak simple sentences and to ... study, dispel the long-held doubts about the effectiveness of ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... one of the world,s largest and fastest growing ... journal, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology . ... specialties, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology ... and emerging bioengineering and biotechnology research to be ... Bioengineering and Biotechnology will provide an open-science ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... pathogens are growing increasingly resistant to the conventional antibiotics ... scientists has synthesized a potent new class of compounds ... , Writing online in the Journal of the ... of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry Professor Helen Blackwell describes agents that ... Staphylococcus aureus , a bacterium at the root of ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):First successful treatment of pediatric cerebral palsy with autologous cord blood 2Frontiers launches new open-access journal in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 2University of Wisconsin chemists find new compounds to curb staph infection 2
... discovered that there are many more species of Australian ... and management of Australia,s native reptiles. PhD student ... Environmental Sciences, has done a detailed genetic study of ... more than twice the recognised number of gecko species, ...
... the deepest point on Earth are dropping at ... Shahrazad Abu Ghazleh and colleagues from the University of ... or Mediterranean-Dead Sea Channels therefore need a significant carrying ... level, in order to sustainably generate electricity and produce ...
... - Scientists trying to understand why oaks are starting ... look just below the surface to find some answers. ... voles, small rodents that live underground, prefer oak roots ... identifies the rodents as a possible factor leading to ...
Cached Biology News:Is the Dead Sea dying? 2Danger lurks underground for oak seedlings 2
(Date:5/23/2013)... (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 ... ancestry tracing for people of African descent, today ... product offering. For people of all races, myDNAmix ... from five distinct populations: Indigenous Americas (Native American), ... India Subcontinent. , Originally launched in ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... St. Louis, Missouri (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 ... design and manufacture of complete thermal systems, recently ... more than 90 years of experience in designing ... most complete selection of products to serve diverse ... lead-time options is featured at the beginning of ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... 22, 2013 Oven Industries announces the ... integrated potentiometers or via a PC through the TTL ... and one half inches square can deliver up to ... switched, low noise solid state relay. Operator safety is ... the communication port and sensor input. Specifications: Input ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... Boston, MA (PRWEB) May 22, 2013 ... to present at last week’s “Data Demonstration Day” on Capitol ... Cambridge Semantics joined EMC, Google, Microsoft and others to showcase ... the proposed Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act). , ... Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Mark ...
Breaking Biology Technology:AfricanAncestry.com Rolls Out Improved MyDNAMix Admixture Test for People of all Races; Enhancements Increase Accuracy in Estimation of Ancestral Makeup 2AfricanAncestry.com Rolls Out Improved MyDNAMix Admixture Test for People of all Races; Enhancements Increase Accuracy in Estimation of Ancestral Makeup 3Watlow Introduces Its New Industrial Heater Catalog 2New AC Temperature Controller Announced by Oven Industries 2Cambridge Semantics Underscores Need for Smart Data during “Data Demonstration Day” on Capitol Hill 2
... The following news advisory is being issued by MichBio: ... the meeting an important development for Michigan biosciences will ... for the bioscience industry When: Wednesday, May ... Dinner , 7:00 p.m. Meeting Purpose: The ...
... Programs; Agreement Underscores SAFC,s Commitment to Japan ... SAFC Hitech (R), a business segment within ... SIAL ), today underlined its commitment to Japan,s microelectronics industry ... industrial and medical gas producer, Air Water Inc ...
... acceptable primary endpoint, for a regulatory ... /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OGXI ... agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ... trial of OGX-011, its lead product candidate targeting castrate ...
Cached Biology Technology:Key Industry-Relevant Development to be Announced at MichBio's 2009 Annual Meeting on May 6 2SAFC Hitech & Air Water Inc. Extend High-End Materials Research Services Collaboration to Support Japan Chip Industry 2SAFC Hitech & Air Water Inc. Extend High-End Materials Research Services Collaboration to Support Japan Chip Industry 3SAFC Hitech & Air Water Inc. Extend High-End Materials Research Services Collaboration to Support Japan Chip Industry 4SAFC Hitech & Air Water Inc. Extend High-End Materials Research Services Collaboration to Support Japan Chip Industry 5OncoGenex Receives Confirmation from FDA on the Design of a Second Phase 3 Trial Evaluating OGX-011 for the Treatment of Advanced Prostate Cancer 2OncoGenex Receives Confirmation from FDA on the Design of a Second Phase 3 Trial Evaluating OGX-011 for the Treatment of Advanced Prostate Cancer 3OncoGenex Receives Confirmation from FDA on the Design of a Second Phase 3 Trial Evaluating OGX-011 for the Treatment of Advanced Prostate Cancer 4OncoGenex Receives Confirmation from FDA on the Design of a Second Phase 3 Trial Evaluating OGX-011 for the Treatment of Advanced Prostate Cancer 5OncoGenex Receives Confirmation from FDA on the Design of a Second Phase 3 Trial Evaluating OGX-011 for the Treatment of Advanced Prostate Cancer 6