Pigeons are classic animal models for learning, memory, and cognition. The majority of the current understanding about avian neurobiology outside of the domain of the song system has been established using pigeons. Since MRI represents an increasingly relevant tool for comparative neuroscience, a 3-dimensional MRI-based atlas of the pigeon brain becomes essential. Using multiple imaging protocols, a team from the Biopsychology in Bochum and the Bioimaging Centre in Antwerp delineated diverse ascending sensory and descending motor systems as well as the hippocampal formation. The resulting pigeon brain atlas can easily be used to determine the stereotactic location of identified neural structures at any angle of the head. The atlas is freely available for the scientific community. Just click on the button with the scan of the pigeon head to the left of this text.

Güntürkün, O., Verhoye, M., De Groof, G., Van der Linden, A. (2013). A 3-dimensional digital atlas of the ascending sensory and the descending motor systems in the pigeon brain. Brain Structure Function, 218, 269-281.