[Wulst Activation in Pied Flycatcher Nestlings in Feeding Behavior Induced by Patterned Visual Stimulus]

Immunohistochemical detection of c-Fos was used to study the transcriptional activation in two higher visual centers (Wulst area and Entopallium) of 12-day-old pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) during the realization of feeding behavior guided by patterned visual stimulus, simulating the species-specific one. Activation was compared in 4 groups of nestlings. Control group was not subjected to any experimental influence. In binocular, right-field (deprivation of the left eye) and left-filed (deprivation of the right eye) groups the vision feeding responses were provoked, reinforced and evaluated. It was shown that the visual afferentation from the right eye was more significant for the organization of early feeding behavior guided by a moving patterned visual stimulus as compared with the afferentation from the left eye. Feeding behavior induced activation of c-Fos expression only in neurons of the higher center of thalamofugal system--Wulst area. The comparison of transcriptional activation in different groups revealed the significant increase of c-Fos induction related with feeding behavior only in the left hemisphere and only in binocular and right-field groups.