Figure 1-.

Experimental setups and stimulation sequence for awake chick fMRI. (A) Imprinting cage. Newborn chicks were first exposed to a hollow plastic ball with a flickering red/blue light at a frequency of 5Hz. (B) Custom-made restrainer and 7T fMRI system. Awake chicks were placed in an MR-compatible tube. To immobilise non-invasively the animals, a beak holder was used to control the beak movements, and blocks of plastelines were used to cover the ears and reduce head movements. To avoid body-part movements, animals were wrapped in paper tissue before fixating the head. Subsequently, the animal’s body was taped to the restrainer. (C) A sequence of the block design experiment paradigm. Visual stimuli were presented in blocks of 16 s followed by 24 s dark. During the ON blocks, the visual stimulus (red/blue light) flickered at a frequency of 5Hz.