Agarwal A, Sarel A, Derdikman D, Ulanovsky N, Gutfreund Y. Spatial coding in the hippocampus and hyperpallium of flying owls. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2023 Jan 31;120(5):e2212418120.

Significance
“Birds travel long distances and navigate in the air as well as on the ground, providing novel and exciting avenues for research on spatial cognition. The brain mechanisms underlying spatial navigation in birds are yet to be discovered. It is hypothesized that the hippocampus in birds, like its mammalian homologue, plays a central role in coordinating spatial behaviors such as navigation, memory, and spatial coordination. We recorded from single neurons in pallial areas of barn owls, including the hippocampus, while they fly between targets. We found neurons that code the direction of flight and the location of the owl in-flight. These results provide unique comparative and evolutionary insights into the coding of space across birds and mammals.”

Abstract
“The elucidation of spatial coding in the hippocampus requires exploring diverse animal species. While robust place-cells are found in the mammalian hippocampus, much less is known about spatial coding in the hippocampus of birds. Here we used a wireless-electrophysiology system to record single neurons in the hippocampus and other two dorsal pallial structures from freely flying barn owls (Tyto alba), a central-place nocturnal predator species with excellent navigational abilities. The owl’s 3D position was monitored while it flew between perches. We found place cells—neurons that fired when the owl flew through a spatially restricted region in at least one direction—as well as neurons that encoded the direction of flight, and neurons that represented the owl’s perching position between flights. Many neurons encoded combinations of position, direction, and perching. Spatial coding was maintained stable and invariant to lighting conditions. Place cells were observed in owls performing two different types of flying tasks, highlighting the generality of the result. Place coding was found in the anterior hippocampus and in the posterior part of the hyperpallium apicale, and to a lesser extent in the visual Wulst. The finding of place-cells in flying owls suggests commonalities in spatial coding across mammals and birds.”

Agarwal A, Sarel A, Derdikman D, Ulanovsky N, Gutfreund Y. Spatial coding in the hippocampus and hyperpallium of flying owls. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2023 Jan 31;120(5):e2212418120.