Mapping functional connectivity in the pigeon brain with wide-field optical imaging

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Comparative Cognition
• Optical Imaging

Background:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has limitations in studying functional connectivity across diverse avian species.
• Expanding imaging capabilities is crucial for understanding the evolution of cognition from a comparative perspective.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess optical imaging technology for measuring functional connectivity in avian models (pigeons).
• To partition the avian brain into functional units and compare results with fMRI data.

Main Methods:

• Optical intrinsic signal imaging was used to map resting-state functional connectivity in anesthetized pigeons.
• Iterative parcellation and hierarchical clustering were applied to create functional connectivity maps.
• fMRI data from a separate dataset were used for comparison, applying the same parcellation methods.

Main Results:

• Signal activity was successfully partitioned into clusters with left-right hemispheric symmetry, aligning with known avian brain anatomy.
• Functional connectivity maps showed positive correlations between homotopic regions and consistent patterns across individuals.
• Optical imaging results were comparable to resting-state fMRI data.

Conclusions:

• Optical imaging technology provides a reliable and cost-effective method for characterizing avian brain functional connectivity.
• Optical imaging is a valuable tool for large-scale comparative and network-level studies in birds.