3D functional ultrasound imaging of the visual system in the pigeon brain

Abstract

Recently, a new functional neuroimaging method called fUS was proposed, which is based on high-frame-rate Power Doppler imaging. So far, fUS has only been performed on rodents, but major issues in neuroscience such as cerebral asymmetries and language learning are mainly studied in birds. Here, we show the first successful fUS measurements on a non-mammalian species without cortical brain architecture, such as pigeons. These measurements are based on a framerate enhanced fUS acquisition algorithm, which was necessary to suppress the signal variations originating from the slower heartrate of pigeons.