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Updated: Jun 19, 2026
Recording Single Neurons' Action Potentials from Freely Moving Pigeons Across Three Stages of Learning
Published on: June 2, 2014
Arcopallium, NMDA antagonists and ingestive behaviors in pigeons
Amanda Alcaraz da Silva1, Luciane Coutinho de Azevedo Campanella, Mayara Caldas Ramos
1Department of Physiological Sciences, Centre of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Abstract:
This study investigated the effects of local injections of 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3(1H,4H)-dione (DNQX, AMPA-kainate receptor antagonist, 0.8 and 2.7 nmol) and MK-801 (NMDA receptor antagonist, 1.8 and 6.0 nmol) into the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala (TnA) and the arcopallium intermedium (AI) on ingestive and non-ingestive behaviors in free-feeding pigeons. Injections of DNQX into the TnA or into the AI failed to consistently affect feeding behavior; DNQX vehicle (DMSO) affected drinking when injected into the TnA. MK-801 injections into the AI produced a delayed increase in food and water intake. In the TnA, MK-801 increased water intake in the first two hours after the treatment. These data indicate that glutamatergic circuits in arcopallial structures in the pigeon, comparable to the mammalian medial amygdala, are involved in the inhibitory control of ingestive behaviors, suggesting that this can represent a conserved functional attribute in the amniote prosencephalon.
