Neural Correlates of a Magnetic Sense

DOI Web Site 3 Citations
  • Le-Qing Wu
    Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77024, USA.
  • J. David Dickman
    Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77024, USA.

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<jats:title>Magnetic Sense</jats:title> <jats:p> Many species orient and navigate using aspects of Earth's magnetic field. Magnetic receptors have been found in the eyes, ears, and bills of birds, but there has been no clear evidence of the neural mechanism by which magnetic signals are translated into direction. Recording from the brainstem within conscious pigeons, <jats:bold>Wu and Dickman</jats:bold> (p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" page="1054" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="336" xlink:href="10.1126/science.1216567">1054</jats:related-article> , published online 26 April; see the Perspective by <jats:bold> <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6084" page="991" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="336" xlink:href="10.1126/science.1223786">Winklhofer</jats:related-article> </jats:bold> ) reveal the presence of neurons in the pigeon's brain that encode the inclination angle and intensity of the geomagnetic field. Thus, pigeons—and perhaps other species—can develop an internal model of geopositional latitude to facilitate spatial orientation and navigation based on magnetoreception. </jats:p>

Journal

  • Science

    Science 336 (6084), 1054-1057, 2012-05-25

    American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

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