Visual lateralisation in quails (Coturnix coturnix)

Area of Science:

• Avian vision
• Comparative psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Birds often rely on visual cues for foraging and object discrimination.
• Visual lateralization, the differential use of eyes and corresponding brain hemispheres, is documented in various bird species.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate visual lateralization in young quails (Coturnix coturnix) using a pebble floor task.
• To determine if age influences visual lateralization in quails.
• To explore the potential link between visual lateralization and hemispheric specialization in birds.

Main Methods:

• Two-week-old and adult quails were trained on a "pebble floor task" requiring discrimination between food grains and pebbles.
• Visual conditions included binocular vision, monocular vision with the right eye, and monocular vision with the left eye.
• Pecking responses to grains and pebbles were recorded to assess discrimination accuracy and lateralization.

Main Results:

• Young quails tested with binocular or right-eye vision showed enhanced grain pecking compared to left-eye vision.
• Adult quails did not exhibit significant visual lateralization in this task.
• Behavioral lateralization in young quails suggests a preference for right-eye input, linked to left-hemisphere processing for rapid visual categorization.

Conclusions:

• Young quails demonstrate visual lateralization in the pebble floor task, with the right eye and left hemisphere being more efficient for rapid food object categorization.
• This age-dependent lateralization in galliformes species like quails may be transient and linked to developmental asymmetries in visual pathways.
• Findings contribute to understanding the evolution of visual processing and brain lateralization in birds.