Activation of Wulst in Pied Flycatcher Nestlings during Feeding Behavior Evoked by a Patterned Visual Stimulus

Immunohistochemical detection of c-Fos protein was used to study the transcriptional activation of two higher visual centers (the Wulst and entopallium) in 12-day-old pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) nestlings during performance of feeding behavior guided by a moving patterned visual stimulus simulating a species-specific stimulus. Four groups of nestlings were studied. The untreated control group was not subjected to experimental treatment. Reinforced feeding reactions were induced in nestlings of the binocular vision group, the right-field vision group (deprivation of the left eye), and the left-field vision group (deprivation of the right eye). Visual afferentation from the right eye was found to be more significant for organizing early feeding behavior guided by the moving patterned visual stimulus than afferentation from the left eye. Feeding behavior induced c-Fos activation only in neurons of the higher representation of the thalamofugal system – the Wulst area. Comparison of transcriptional activation in different groups of nestlings showed that a significant increase in feeding behavior-evoked induction of c-Fos was seen only in the left hemisphere and only in the binocular and right-field vision groups.

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