Localization Of Midbrain Locomotor Regions And Homing Characteristics In Columba Livia

The pigeon(Columba livia)is a widely studied bird with long flight distances and strong load-bearing ability.Compared with traditional robots,animal robots have inherent advantages and have important value in many fields of theory and research.The regulation of animal movement is a complex physiological process that involves the synergistic effect of multiple brain regions,and the midbrain is an important brain area for movement regulation.As a typical representative of homing flight,the inherent mechanism of pigeons’ homing flight has always been a hot topic of research.At present,the homing behavior of carrier pigeons is mainly studied by recording and analyzing the flight data of pigeons in natural conditions,and there are few research methods that introduce artificially controllable parameters.The research on the localization and homing characteristics of the midbrain motor regulatory region in homing pigeons is of great significance for the development of homing pigeon robots.This study first investigated the behavioral responses of the midbrain reticular area and its surrounding areas in pigeons under shallow anesthesia and free consciousness using intracerebral micro electrical stimulation technology,and explored their spatial coding patterns.Conduct research and analysis on the homing characteristics of homing pigeons under natural conditions using homing data obtained from path tracking devices.By implanting microelectrodes in the motor regulated brain area,motion induced pigeons were introduced with human regulatory parameters,and then the changes in pigeon path selection and their impact on the population were analyzed under the intervention of human regulatory parameters.Acute micro electrical stimulation experiment was conducted under shallow anesthesia(n=12),with a total of 10 needle channels and over 300 stimulation sites identified.When electrically stimulating the motor regulatory area of the midbrain,negative pulse square wave stimulation with a width of 1 ms,intensity of 1.5 V,and frequency of 80 Hz can stably induce motor behavior.Pigeons may experience reactions such as fanning,swaying,and standing,as well as other reactions such as increased breathing,eye opening,tongue flicking,chirping,and feather lodging.After histological identification,it has been determined that the brain regions that cause somatic reactions are mainly concentrated in the podopontine nucleus(PPN)and intercollicular nucleus(ICo).In order to better verify the function of relevant motor brain regions,a chronic experiment(n=6)was conducted based on the results of acute experiments under shallow anesthesia.Firstly,electrodes were implanted at the determined sites,and after 7 days of postoperative recovery,radio stimulation was performed in the free movement state of the carrier pigeon.Experiments have found that most of the action responses that occur under shallow anesthesia can be induced in a conscious state,and the stimulation voltage that induces action behavior at most sites is lower than that of electrical stimulation experiments under shallow anesthesia.The induced voltage for left and right turns and takeoff movements is around 1.6 V.In addition,based on the known homing navigation mechanism of homing pigeons,the homing pigeons with excellent homing ability were first released at a distance of 10 kilometers.Then,the homing pigeons were selected for 20 kilometers of remote release,and the homing characteristics of homing pigeons under natural conditions were studied and analyzed by group based remote release,including familiar path selection habits and relevant factors affecting the homing path.Using brain control technology to transform pigeons at the leadership level into motion induced pigeons,and conducting validation work on pigeon group flight experiments after introducing motion induced pigeons.The results showed that the motion induced pigeons would turn or rotate with the rest of the pigeons after receiving stimulation,verifying the feasibility of introducing artificial control parameters in pigeon group movement.Through multiple repetitions of acute and chronic experiments,this study identified some motor control brain regions in the midbrain related to exercise,and preliminarily achieved motor induction in homing pigeons.On the basis of known homing pigeon navigation mechanisms,analyze the selection rules of homing paths and conduct group flight experiments involving motion induced pigeons.These experimental results provide important information for the development of homing pigeon robots.