Comprehensive approach to characterize the circuit between the E and the MVL concerned with visual processing in the avian pallium
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.
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BibTeX
@article{lu2026comprehensive,
title = {{Comprehensive approach to characterize the circuit between the E and the MVL concerned with visual processing in the avian pallium}},
author = {Shan Lu and Xiaoteng Zhang and Rui Wang and Yueyang Cang and Yanyan Peng and Xinwei Li and Yingjie Zhu and Li Shi and Shaoju Zeng},
journal = {iScience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.isci.2026.117356},
url = {https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)02734-3},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Comprehensive approach to characterize the circuit between the E and the MVL concerned with visual processing in the avian pallium
AU - Shan Lu
AU - Xiaoteng Zhang
AU - Rui Wang
AU - Yueyang Cang
AU - Yanyan Peng
AU - Xinwei Li
AU - Yingjie Zhu
AU - Li Shi
AU - Shaoju Zeng
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/24
JO - iScience
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117356
UR - https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)02734-3
AB - 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.
SN - 2589-0042
ER -