Rotation compensating reflexes independent of the labyrinth

Abstract

Footnote to Delius and Vollrath 1973, Rotation compensating …, by Juan D. Delius and Fritz W. Vollrath, 2021. A series of papers mainly authored by Reinhold Neckar, starting with one Necker R., Janßen, A. and Beissenhirtz, T. (2000). Behavioral evidence of the role of lumbosacral anatomical specializations in pigeons in maintaining balance during terrestrial locomotion. J. Comp. Physiol. A 186, 409–412 and ending with one Necker, R. (2006), Specializations in the lumbosacral vertebral canal and spinal cord of birds: evidence of a function as a sense organ which is involved in the control of equilibrium during walking in the J. Comp. Physiol. A (2006) 192: 439–448 doi10.1007/s00359-006-0105-x supplements and corrects our Delius, J. D. and Vollrath, F. W. 1973, Rotation compensating reflexes independent of the labyrinth: neurosensory correlates in pigeons, J. Comp. Physiol. A 83, 123-134 paper and its companion-paper, Biederman-Thorson, M., and Thorson, J. 1973, Rotation-compensating reflexes independent of the labyrinth: neuromuscular correlates in the pigeon. J. comp. Physiol. A, 83, 103-122. The recent evidence supports the view that the lumbosacral spinal cord of birds incorporates a special accelerometer-like sensory arrangement, see Urbina-Meléndez, D., Jalaleddini, K., Daley, M. A. and Valero-Cuevas, F. J. 2020. A physical model suggests that a hip-localized balance sense in birds improves balance state estimation in perching. Frontiers in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, 5, 38.