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Updated: Jul 4, 2025

Visualization of Tangential Cell Migration in the Developing Chick Optic Tectum
Published on: October 24, 2018
Hierarchical processing of feature, egocentric and relational information for spatial orientation in domestic chicks
Anastasia Morandi-Raikova1, Orsola Rosa-Salva1, Aleksandra Simdianova1
1Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Piazza Manifattura 1, I-38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy.
Abstract:
Animals can use different types of information for navigation. Domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) prefer to use local features as a beacon over spatial relational information. However, the role of egocentric navigation strategies is less understood. Here, we tested domestic chicks' egocentric and allocentric orientation abilities in a large circular arena. In experiment 1, we investigated whether domestic chicks possess a side bias during viewpoint-dependent egocentric orientation, revealing facilitation for targets on the chicks' left side. Experiment 2 showed that local features are preferred over viewpoint-dependent egocentric information when the two conflict. Lastly, in experiment 3, we found that in a situation where there is a choice between egocentric and allocentric spatial relational information provided by free-standing objects, chicks preferentially rely on egocentric information. We conclude that chicks orient according to a hierarchy of cues, in which the use of the visual appearance of an object is the dominant strategy, followed by viewpoint-dependent egocentric information and finally by spatial relational information.
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