Spatial coding in the hippocampus of flying owls

The elucidation of spatial coding in the hippocampus requires exploring diverse animal species. While robust place-cells are found in the mammalian hippocampus, much less is known about spatial coding in the hippocampus of birds - and nothing is known about avian spatial representation during flight. Here we used a wireless-electrophysiology system to record single neurons in the hippocampus and related pallial structures from freely flying barn owls (Tyto alba) - a central-place nocturnal predator species with excellent navigational abilities. The owl 3D position was monitored while it flew back and forth between two perches. We found place cells - neurons that robustly represented the owls location during flight, and its flight-direction - as well as neurons that coded the owls perching position between flights. Spatial coding was invariant to changes in lighting conditions and to the position of a salient object in the room. Place cells were found in the anterior hippocampus and in the adjacent posterior hyperpallium apicale, and to a much lesser extent in the visual Wulst (visual-cortex homologue). The finding of place-cells in flying owls suggests commonalities in spatial coding across a variety of species - including rodents, bats and owls.