A different perspective on avian hippocampus function: Visual-spatial perception

The behavioral and neural mechanisms that support spatial cognition have been an enduring interest of psychologists, and much of that enduring interest is attributable to the groundbreaking research of Ken Cheng. One manifestation of this interest, inspired by the idea of studying spatial cognition under natural field conditions, has been research carried out to understand the role of the avian hippocampal formation (HF) in supporting homing pigeon navigation. Emerging from that research has been the conclusion that the role of HF in homing pigeon navigation aligns well with the canonical narrative of a hippocampus important for spatial memory and the implementation of such memories to support navigation. However, recently an accumulation of disparate observations has prompted a rethinking of the avian HF as a structure also important in shaping visual-spatial perception or attention antecedent to any memory processing. In this perspective paper, we summarize field observations contrasting the behavior of intact and HF-lesioned homing pigeons from several studies, based primarily on GPS-recorded flight paths, that support a recharacterization of HF's functional profile to include visual-spatial perception. Although admittedly still speculative, we hope the offered perspective will motivate controlled, experimental-laboratory studies to further test the hypothesis of a HF important for visual-perceptual integration, or scene construction, of landscape elements in support of navigation.