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Science 12 October 2001:
Vol. 294. no. 5541, pp. 366 - 368
DOI: 10.1126/science.1063351
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Reports

Neuroanatomy of Magnetoreception: The Superior Colliculus Involved in Magnetic Orientation in a Mammal

Pavel Nemec,1* Jens Altmann,2 Stephan Marhold,3 Hynek Burda,4 Helmut H. A. Oelschläger2

The neural substrate subserving magnetic orientation is largely unknown in vertebrates and unstudied in mammals. We combined a behavioral test for magnetic compass orientation in mole rats and immunocytochemical visualization of the transcription factor c-Fos as a marker of neuronal activity. We found that the superior colliculus of the Zambian mole rat (Cryptomys anselli) contains neurons that are responsive to magnetic stimuli. These neurons are directionally selective and organized within a discrete sublayer. Our results constitute evidence for the involvement of a specific mammalian brain structure in magnetoreception.

1 Department of Zoology, Charles University, CZ-128 44 Prague, Czech Republic.
2 Department of Anatomy III, J. W. Goethe-University, D-60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
3 Institute of Zoology, J. W. Goethe-University, D-60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
4 Department of General Zoology, University of Essen, D-45117 Essen, Germany.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: pgnemec{at}natur.cuni.cz

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