Functional MRI of sleeping pigeons

In an effort to contribute to the scientific community's understanding of avian sleep patterns, we are excited to present our fMRI dataset obtained from naturally sleeping pigeons. This unique collection of data captures the brain activity of 15 Budapest pigeons over a span of two days (with one exception of a single-day dataset).

Ungurean, G., Behroozi, M., Böger, L. et al. Wide-spread brain activation and reduced CSF flow during avian REM sleep. Nat Commun 14, 3259 (2023).

fMRI data of actively discriminating pigeons

This dataset contains fMRI and anatomical scans during color discrimination experiment and fMRI time-series for HRF estimation. During color discrimination, pigeons were involved in a Go/NoGo paradigm. The dataset can be used to assess the activated brain networks during color discrimination.

Behroozi M., Helluy X., Ströckens F., Meng G., Pusch R., Tabrik S., Tegenthoff M., Otto T., Axmacher N., Kumsta R., Moser D., Genc E., and Güntürkün O. Event-Related functional MRI in awake behaving pigeons.(2020)

Functional MRI in the Nile crocodile

Although the crocodilian brain has been investigated anatomically, functional studies are rare. Here we employed fMRI, never tested in poikilotherms, to investigate crocodilian telencephalic sensory processing. fMRI data were acquired from 5 mildly sedated Nile crocodiles. This research unveils activation patterns in response to visual and auditory stimuli, offering a new perspective on the evolution of these critical species.

Behroozi, M., Billings, B. K., Helluy, X., Manger, P. R., Güntürkün, O. & Ströckens, F. (2018). Functional MRI in the Nile Crocodile: a new avenue for evolutionary neurobiology.

Turkish whistle language

This is a scene taken in the village Kusköy (Northeast Turkey, close to the Black Sea, Giresun province) during a whistle conversation of Halil (in the front) and Kücük (in the distance on the terrace of his house). You can follow their chat with the subscript.

Güntürkün, O., Güntürkün, M., Hahn, C., Challenging the left hemisphere: Encoding of whistle language modifies brain asymmetries, Current Biol., 2015, 25, R693–R710.

Pigeon brain atlas

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, we delineated diverse ascending sensory and descending motor systems as well as the hippocampal formation.

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