In Search for the Avian Trigeminal Magnetic Sensor: Distribution of Peripheral and Central Terminals of Ophthalmic Sensory Neurons in the Night-Migratory Eurasian Blackcap ( Sylvia atricapilla )

In night-migratory songbirds, neurobiological and behavioral evidence suggest the existence of a magnetic sense associated with the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (V1), possibly providing magnetic positional information. Curiously, neither the unequivocal existence, structural nature, nor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in neuroanatomy 2022-03, Vol.16, p.853401-853401
Main Authors: Haase, Katrin, Musielak, Isabelle, Warmuth-Moles, Leonie, Leberecht, Bo, Zolotareva, Anna, Mouritsen, Henrik, Heyers, Dominik
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bird migration
Brain stem
Innervation
Magnetic fields
magnetoreception
Mucosa
Neuroanatomy
Nose
Sensory neurons
somatosensory system
songbird
Sylvia atricapilla
Trigeminal nerve
trigeminal system
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Summary:In night-migratory songbirds, neurobiological and behavioral evidence suggest the existence of a magnetic sense associated with the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (V1), possibly providing magnetic positional information. Curiously, neither the unequivocal existence, structural nature, nor the exact location of any sensory structure has been revealed to date. Here, we used neuronal tract tracing to map both the innervation fields in the upper beak and the detailed trigeminal brainstem terminations of the medial and lateral V1 subbranches in the night-migratory Eurasian Blackcap ( ). The medial V1 subbranch takes its course along the ventral part of the upper beak to innervate subepidermal layers and the mucosa of the nasal cavity, whereas the lateral V1 subbranch runs along dorsolateral levels until the nostrils to innervate mainly the skin of the upper beak. In the trigeminal brainstem, medial V1 terminals innervate both the dorsal part and the ventral, magnetically activated part of the principal sensory trigeminal brainstem nuclei (PrV). In contrast, the lateral V1 subbranch innervates only a small part of the ventral PrV. The spinal sensory trigeminal brainstem nuclei (SpV) receive topographically ordered projections. The medial V1 subbranch mainly innervates rostral and medial parts of SpV, whereas the lateral V1 subbranch mainly innervates the lateral and caudal parts of SpV. The present findings could provide valuable information for further analysis of the trigeminal magnetic sense of birds.
ISSN:1662-5129
1662-5129
DOI:10.3389/fnana.2022.853401