Work

Comprehensive approach to characterize the circuit between the E and the MVL concerned with visual processing in the avian pallium

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Like most mammals, birds possess advanced visual perception. However, the organization of the avian pallium is largely different from that of the mammalian layered cortex. Here, using viral tracing, the neural connectivity between the entopallium (E) and the mesopallium ventrolaterale (MVL), two visual processing regions in the pallium of the pigeon (Columba livia), was shown to be bidirectional, but dominated by E→MVL. MVL neurons projecting to E or receiving projections from E were SATB2 immunoreactive. According to single-cell RNA sequencing data, NeuronChat indicated that the strength of ligand-receptor interactions in E→MVL was weighted more heavily than that in MVL→E. Electrophysiological studies showed that MVL neurons exhibited more elongated receptive fields. Three-dimensional reconstruction for SATB2 cells in MVL receiving projection from E indicated an enrichment of mature mushroom spines in the proximal dendritic compartment. These results are helpful in deepening the understanding of the neural mechanism underlying visual processing in the avian pallium.

Source: iScience

DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117356