Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T22:56:19.112Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Retinotopic representation of the bifoveate eye of the kestrel (Falco sparverius) on the optic tectum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

B. J. Frost ,
L. Z. Wise ,
B. Morgan  and
D. Bird
B. J. Frost
Affiliation:
Department of Psyschology, Queens's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
L. Z. Wise
Affiliation:
Department of Psyschology, Queens's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
B. Morgan
Affiliation:
Department of Psyschology, Queens's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
D. Bird
Affiliation:
Department of Renewable Resource, Macdonald College, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue P.Q., Quebec H9X 1C0, Canada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Like many diurnal raptors, the American kestrel or sparrow hawk, Falco sparverius, possesses two foveae in each eye. In this study, we used fundus photography and reversed ophthalmoscopy to plot the projection of these foveae onto the visual field, together with other retinal landmarks such as the pecten and ora terminali. From such data, it was determined that the central monocular fovea (CMF) and temporal binocular fovea (TBF) were separated by 36 deg and that the kestrel has 58 deg of binocular overlap when the eyes are appropriately converged. Single-cell and multi-unit recordings were used to systematically explore the tectal surface and map receptive fields (RF) onto a hemispheric screen. A retinotopic map of the tectal surface was produced from such data and revealed an expanded representation for each fovea on the tectum and a systematic increase in RF size from fovea to periphery. The functional significance of this organization is discussed.

Keywords

RetinotopicKestrelTectumBifoveateStereopsis
Type
Research Article
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , September 1990 , pp. 231 - 239
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allman, J.A. (1977). The evolution of the visual system in the early primates. In Progress in Psychobiology and Physiological Psychology, Vol. 7, ed. Sprague, J. & Epstein, A., pp. 1–53. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Bilge, M. (1971). Electrophysiological investigation on the pigeon's optic tectum. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 58, 242–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloch, S. & Martinoya, C. (1983). Specialization of visual functions for the different retinal areas in the pigeon. In Advances in Vertebrate Neuroethology, ed. Ewert, J.P., Capranica, R.R. & Ingle, D.J., pp. 359–368. New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blough, P. (1979). Functional implications of the pigeon's peculiar retinal structure. In Neural Mechanisms of Behavior in the Pigeon, ed. Granda, A.M. & Maxwell, J.H., pp. 71–88. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Brown, M. (1982). Physiological optics of bifoveate birds. B.Sc. (Hons.) Thesis, National Vision Research Institute of Australia and University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Google Scholar
Catania, A.C. (1964). On the visual acuity of the pigeon. Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior 7, 361–366.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clarke, P.G.H. & Whitteridge, D. (1976). The projection of the retina, including the “red area” on to the optic tectum of the pigeon. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 61, 351–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, M.L. & Pettigrew, J.D. (1979). The decussation of the retinothalamic pathway in the cat, with a note on the major meridians of the cat's eye. Journal of Comparative Neurology 187, 285–312.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crossland, W.J., Cowan, W.M., Rogers, L.A. & Kelly, J.P. (1974). The specification of the retinotectal projection in the chick. Journal of Comparative Neurology 155, 127–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Erichsen, J.T. & Hodos, W. (1989). Lower-field myopia in birds: an adaptation that keeps the ground in focus. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Abstracts 30, 31.Google Scholar
Fite, K.V., Rosenfield-Wessels, S. (1975). A comparative study of deep avian foveas. Brain Behavior and Evolution 12, 97–115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fox, R., Lehmkuhle, S.W. & Bush, R.C. (1977). Stereopsis in the falcon. Science 197, 79–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fox, R., Lehmukuhle, S.W. & Westendorf, D.H. (1976). Falcon visual acuity. Science 192, 263–265.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frost, B.J. & Difranco, D.E. (1976). Motion specific units in the pigeon's optic tectum. Vision Research 16, 1229–1234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frost, B.J., Morgan, B., Wise, L.Z. & Bird, D. (1987). Retinotopic representation of the bifoveate eye of the kestrel on the optic tecturn. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Abstracts 28, 124.Google Scholar
Frost, B.J. & Morgan, B. (1986). Retinotopic mapping and response characteristics of neurons in the wulst of the great horned owl. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 12, 1366.Google Scholar
Hamdi, F.A. & Whitteridge, D. (1954). The representation of the retina on the optic tectum of the pigeon. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 39, 111–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayes, B.P., Hodos, W., Holden, A.L. & Low, J.C. (1987). The projection of the visual field upon the retina of the pigeon. Vision Research 27, 31–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hirsch, J. (1982). Falcon visual sensitivity to grating contrast. Nature 300, 57–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodos, W., Macko, K.A. & Bessette, B.B. (1984). Near-field acuity changes after visual system lesions in pigeons. II. Telencephalon. Behavioral Brain Research 13, 15–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hodos, W., Bessette, B.B., Macko, K.A. & Weiss, S.R.B. (1985). Normative data for pigeon vision. Vision Research 25, 1525–1528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, A. (1985). New perspectives in retinal organization. In Progress in Retinal Research Vol. 4, ed. Osbourne, N.N., & Chader, G.J., pp. 244–313. Oxford, New York: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Hughes, C.P. & Pearlman, A.L. (1974). Single unit receptive fields and the cellular layers of the pigeon optic tectum. Brain Research 80, 365–377.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jassik-Gerschenfeld, D. & Guichard, J. (1972). Visual receptive fields of single cells in the pigeon's optic tectum. Brain Research 40, 303–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jassik-Gerschenfeld, D., Minois, F. & Conde-Courtine, F. (1970). Receptive field properties of directionally selective units in the pigeon's optic tectum. Brain Research 24, 407–421.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karten, H.J., Hodos, W., Nauta, W.J. & Revzin, A.M. (1973). Neural connections of the visual “Wulst” of the avian telencephalon. Experimental study in the pigeon Columba livia and owl Speotyto cunicularia. Journal of Comparative Neurology 150, 153–278.Google ScholarPubMed
Maldonado, P.E., Maturana, H. & Varela, F.J. (1988). Frontal and lateral visual systems in birds. Brain, Behavior, and Evolution 32, 57–62.Google ScholarPubMed
McGill, J.I., Powell, T.P.S. & Cowan, W.M. (1966). The retinal representation upon the optic tectum and isthmo-optic nucleus in the pigeon. Journal of Anatomy 100, 5–25.Google ScholarPubMed
Pettigrew, J.D. (1978). A comparison of the visual-field representations in the visual Wulst of Falco and Tyto, with a note on the evolution of frontal vision. In Frontiers in Visual Science, ed. Cool, S. & Smith, E., pp. 328–335. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettigrew, J.D. (1986). Flying primates? Megabats have the advanced pathway from eye to midbrain. Science 231, 1304–1306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pettigrew, J.D. & Konishi, M. (1976 a). Binocular neurones selective for orientation and disparity in the visual Wulst of the barn own (Tyto alba). Science 193, 675–678.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettigrew, J.D. & Konishi, M. (1976 b). Effect of monocular deprivation on binocular neurones in the owl's visual Wulst. Nature (London), 264, 753–754.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rochon-Duvigneaud, A. (1943). Les Yeux et la Vision des Vertebres. Paris; France: Masson.Google Scholar
Schwassmann, H.O. (1968). Visual projection upon the optic tectum in foveate marine teleosts. Vision Research 8, 1337–1348.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wallman, J. & Pettigrew, J.D. (1985). Conjugate and disjunctive saccades in two avian species with contrasting oculomotor strategies. Journal of Neuroscience 5, 1418–1428.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walls, G.L. (1942). The Vertebrate Eye and Its Adaptive Radiation. New York, London: Hafner.Google Scholar