title: The Neural Basis of Long-Distance Navigation in Birds.
abstract: Migratory birds can navigate over tens of thousands of kilometers with an accuracy unobtainable for human navigators. To do so, they use their brains. In this review, we address how birds sense navigation- and orientation-relevant cues and where in their brains each individual cue is processed. When little is currently known, we make educated predictions as to which brain regions could be involved. We ask where and how multisensory navigational information is integrated and suggest that the hippocampus could interact with structures that represent maps and compass information to compute and constantly control navigational goals and directions. We also suggest that the caudolateral nidopallium could be involved in weighing conflicting pieces of information against each other, making decisions, and helping the animal respond to unexpected situations. Considering the gaps in current knowledge, some of our suggestions may be wrong. However, our main aim is to stimulate further research in this fascinating field.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany; email: henrik.mouritsen@uni-oldenburg.de , dominik.heyers@uni-oldenburg.de.|Research Center Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mouritsen
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany; email: henrik.mouritsen@uni-oldenburg.de , dominik.heyers@uni-oldenburg.de.|Research Center Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heyers
authors.affiliation: Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany; email: onur.guentuerkuen@ruhr-uni-bochum.de.
authors.forename: Onur
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Güntürkün
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D006801:Humans; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology; D065854:Spatial Navigation / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: celestial orientation; hippocampus; landmark navigation; magnetoreception; multisensory integration; olfaction