Goal recognition and hippocampal formation in the homing pigeon (Columba livia).

Stimulus control of food-site recognition and role of the hippocampal formation (HF) were investigated. Control and HF-lesioned pigeons were trained to find food located in a colored bowl, near a landmark beacon, in a constant room location. During later test trials, the sources of information were individually removed and/or disassociated. For all test trial types, HF-lesioned pigeons consistently chose bowls associated with one of the training stimuli. Controls were more sensitive to the changes introduced during the test trials; choosing like HF-lesioned pigeons on some test trials but choosing randomly on others. The data identify a critical role of the avian HF in learning the spatial relationship among environmental stimuli.