Hyperstriatum ventrale in pigeons: effects of lesions on color-discrimination and color-reversal learning

Previous lesion studies of color-reversal learning in pigeons show that an impairment results when (1) the tectofugal visual pathway is damaged at either the thalamic level (nucleus rotundus) or the telencephalic level (ectostriatum), or (2) the thalamofugal visual pathway is damaged at the telencephalic level (the visual Wulst). An impairment does not result, however, when the thalamic source of thalamofugal input (n. opticus principalis thalami or OPT) to the visual Wulst is damaged. These results suggest that the visual Wulst plays a role in color-reversal learning as a consequence of visual information routed from the tectofugal pathway via other visual areas in the telencephalon. One such area is the hyperstriatum ventrale (HV). In the present study, after ablation of the medial and lateral regions of HV, pigeons were trained postoperatively to discriminate between two colors presented simultaneously. After reaching criterion, the pigeons were required to perform a series of discrimination reversals in which the positive and negative stimuli were interchanged. Lesions of medial HV resulted in impaired performance of a color-discrimination task (i.e. original learning), but did not affect discrimination reversal. An impairment in color-reversal learning resulted from combined damage to lateral HV and the fronto-thalamic tract (FT), which carries ascending visual input from OPT to the visual Wulst. No deficits were observed when either lateral HV or FT were damaged alone. These findings suggest that both the thalamofugal and tectofugal pathways provide the visual Wulst with visual input relevant to color-reversal learning.