Regional Patterning of Adult Neurogenesis in the Homing Pigeon's Brain

In the avian brain, adult neurogenesis has been reported in the telencephalon of several species, but the functional significance of this trait is still ambiguous. Homing pigeons (Columba livia f.d.) are well-known for their navigational skills. Their brains are functionally adapted to homing with, e.g., larger hippocampi. So far, no comprehensive mapping of adult neuro- and gliogenesis or studies of different developmental neuronal stages in the telencephalon of homing pigeons exists, although comprehensive analyses in various species surely will result in a higher understanding of the functional significance of adult neurogenesis. Here, adult, free flying homing pigeons were treated with 5-bromo-deoxyuridine (BrdU) to label adult newborn cells. Brains were dissected and immunohistochemically processed with several markers (GFAP, Sox2, S100ß, Tbr2, DCX, Prox1, Ki67, NeuN, Calbindin, Calretinin) to study different stages of adult neurogenesis in a quantitative and qualitative way. Therefore, immature and adult newborn neurons and glial cells were analyzed along the anterior-posterior axis. The analysis proved the existence of different neuronal maturation stages and showed that immature cells, migrating neurons and adult newborn neurons and glia were widely and regionally unequally distributed. Double- and triple-labelling with developmental markers allowed a stage classification of adult neurogenesis in the pigeon brain (1: continuity of stem cells/proliferation, 2: fate specification, 3: differentiation/maturation, 4: integration). The most adult newborn neurons and glia were found in the intercalated hyperpallium (HI) and the hippocampal formation (HF). The highest numbers of immature (DCX+) cells were detected in the nidopallium (N). Generally, the number of newborn glial cells exceeded the number of newborn neurons. Individual structures (e.g., HI, N, and HF) showed further variations along the anterior-posterior axis. Our qualitative classification and the distribution of maturing cells in the forebrain support the idea that there is a functional specialization, respectively, that there is a link between brain-structure and function, species-specific requirements and adult neurogenesis. The high number of immature neurons also suggests a high level of plasticity, which points to the ability for rapid adaption to environmental changes through additive mechanisms. Furthermore, we discuss a possible influence of adult neurogenesis on spatial cognition.