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First published online January 3, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 292-301 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02005

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Influence of the behavioural context on the optocollic reflex (OCR) in pigeons (Columba livia)

Monique Maurice¹, Henri Gioanni^1,* and Anick Abourachid²

¹ Laboratoire de Neurobiologie des Réseaux Sensorimoteurs, UMR 7060 CNRS-Université René Descartes, 45 rue des Saints-Pères, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France
² Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 8570 CNRS-MNHN-P6, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France

View larger version (74K): [in a new window]   Fig. 1. Experimental set-up used to record head movements during optokinetic stimulation delivered on a spherical screen. (A) `Resting condition'; (B) `standing condition'; (C) `flying condition'. B, box; C, coil with its support; H, harness; Ho, holder; Ob, optokinetic ball; S, spherical screen; T, tube delivering the frontal airflow.

View larger version (137K): [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Experimental set-up used to study the head movements during the `walking condition'. The black line drawn along the sagittal axis of the head allows angles corresponding to each nystagmic beats of the OCR to be measured. The corresponding duration is given by the time code. (A) Onset of a slow phase triggered by an anticlockwise stimulation; (B) end of the slow phase. Ob, optokinetic ball; Sc, screen; Tm, treadmill.

View larger version (41K): [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Examples of optocollic responses obtained in the same animal for different behavioural conditions. The stimulation (stim.) was a velocity step of 200 deg. s-1 delivered clockwise. Upper traces, head position; lower traces, head velocity. A broken line has been drawn for a head velocity of 50 deg. s-1 to aid comparison of the maximal slow phase velocity obtained for the three conditions. The time course of the stimulation and the time scale are indicated at the bottom of the figure. (A) `Resting condition'. Note the irregular time course of nystagmic beats and of the slow phase velocity. (B) `Standing condition'. Nystagmic beats are larger and more regular, and the slow phase velocity is higher than in the `resting condition'. (C) `Flying condition'. Nystagmic beats are regular and centred around the axis of the body. The slow phase velocity is higher than in the `standing condition'.

View larger version (18K): [in a new window]   Fig. 4. Mean gain of the OCR obtained for different behavioural conditions, in response to increasing stimuli velocity step. (A) Gains obtained in the `resting', `standing' and `flying' conditions. The gain was progressively increased in the higher velocity range of stimuli for each of these three conditions. (B) Mean gain obtained for the `standing condition' in the presence of and without a frontal airflow. The corresponding gain curves were not different. Each point is the mean value ± s.e.m. (N=12) of responses obtained in the clockwise and anticlockwise directions.

View larger version (38K): [in a new window]   Fig. 5. Three-dimensional representation of the PV-amplitude relation as a function of the SPV, for the fast phases of the OCR obtained in response to velocity step stimuli, for (A) the `resting', (B) `standing' and (C) `flying' conditions. Data were obtained from the six animals. The equations of the multiple linear regressions are indicated for each condition. The PV values were independent from the SPV in the `resting condition', whereas they increased slightly in the `standing condition' and strongly in the `flying condition'.

View larger version (18K): [in a new window]   Fig. 6. Mean gain of the OCR obtained in response to velocity step stimuli for the `walking condition' (animal on the treadmill). For the `standing condition', the treadmill remained still. Each point is the mean value ± s.e.m. (N=12) of responses obtained in the clockwise and anticlockwise directions. The gain curves obtained for different treadmill velocities were not different, but the gain was systematically higher than for the `standing condition'.