Biomaterial Database

Intensity difference thresholds after lesions of ectostriatum in pigeons. 1988

W Hodos, and S R Weiss, and B B Bessette

Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park 20742.

Seven pigeons were trained to perform in a psychophysical procedure to determine the smallest difference in luminous intensity (intensity difference threshold) that they could discriminate. When their performance stabilized, lesions were made in the ectostriatum in 4 birds and in the neostriatum in the remaining 3 birds. After surgery, the pigeons with ectostriatum lesions showed markedly elevated thresholds. The neostriatum control cases showed only trivial threshold changes as a consequence of the surgery. A psychophysical scaling analysis showed that the ectostriatum-lesioned pigeons had lost from 50% to 83% of their preoperative capacity to discriminate differences in the intensity of visual stimuli. A multiple-regression analysis based on quantitative reconstructions of the lesions revealed that only damage to the core region of the ectostriatum contributed to the postoperative threshold changes.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010856	Columbidae	Family in the order COLUMBIFORMES, comprised of pigeons or doves. They are BIRDS with short legs, stout bodies, small heads, and slender bills. Some sources call the smaller species doves and the larger pigeons, but the names are interchangeable.	Columba livia,Doves,Pigeons,Domestic Pigeons,Feral Pigeons,Rock Doves,Rock Pigeons,Domestic Pigeon,Dove,Dove, Rock,Doves, Rock,Feral Pigeon,Pigeon,Pigeon, Domestic,Pigeon, Feral,Pigeon, Rock,Pigeons, Domestic,Pigeons, Feral,Pigeons, Rock,Rock Dove,Rock Pigeon
D011601	Psychophysics	The science dealing with the correlation of the physical characteristics of a stimulus, e.g., frequency or intensity, with the response to the stimulus, in order to assess the psychologic factors involved in the relationship.	Psychophysic
D001931	Brain Mapping	Imaging techniques used to colocalize sites of brain functions or physiological activity with brain structures.	Brain Electrical Activity Mapping,Functional Cerebral Localization,Topographic Brain Mapping,Brain Mapping, Topographic,Functional Cerebral Localizations,Mapping, Brain,Mapping, Topographic Brain
D004193	Discrimination Learning	Learning that is manifested in the ability to respond differentially to various stimuli.	Discriminative Learning,Discrimination Learnings,Discriminative Learnings,Learning, Discrimination,Learning, Discriminative
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012684	Sensory Thresholds	The minimum amount of stimulus energy necessary to elicit a sensory response.	Sensory Threshold,Threshold, Sensory,Thresholds, Sensory
D013477	Superior Colliculi	The anterior pair of the quadrigeminal bodies which coordinate the general behavioral orienting responses to visual stimuli, such as whole-body turning, and reaching.	Colliculus, Superior,Optic Lobe, Human,Optic Lobe, Mammalian,Optic Tectum,Anterior Colliculus,Superior Colliculus,Tectum, Optic,Colliculi, Superior,Colliculus, Anterior,Human Optic Lobe,Human Optic Lobes,Mammalian Optic Lobe,Mammalian Optic Lobes,Optic Lobes, Human,Optic Lobes, Mammalian,Optic Tectums,Tectums, Optic
D013787	Thalamic Nuclei	Several groups of nuclei in the thalamus that serve as the major relay centers for sensory impulses in the brain.	Nuclei, Thalamic
D014795	Visual Pathways	Set of cell bodies and nerve fibers conducting impulses from the eyes to the cerebral cortex. It includes the RETINA; OPTIC NERVE; optic tract; and geniculocalcarine tract.	Pathway, Visual,Pathways, Visual,Visual Pathway
D014796	Visual Perception	The selecting and organizing of visual stimuli based on the individual's past experience.	Visual Processing,Perception, Visual,Processing, Visual