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t m c » p u l s e | m ay 2 0 1 7 12 Bird Brains Can pigeons with backpacks help people with Alzheimer's and dementia? N early two dozen pigeons rustle their feathers and coo on the roof of the Services and Radiology Building at Baylor College of Medicine. They're pecking at seeds in a 6-foot- by-6-foot wire den, dubbed the "pigeon penthouse." These birds are part of a research project led by Baylor postdoctoral associate Nele Lefeldt, Ph.D., who is studying their natural ability to navi- gate and orient using Earth's magnetic field—a sense known as magnetore- ception. Because birds have homing and navigational abilities that exceed human capabilities, studying the navi- gation circuit in their brains could lead to treatment options for diseases that affect orientation, such as dementia and Alzheimer's. "If we understand the basics that underlie orientation and navigation, we can get a better understanding in the long run of how to yield diseases and cure diseases that come along with disorientation," Lefeldt said. The navigation circuit is one of the least understood circuits in the brain, but it serves an important role, espe- cially for people who suffer from brain diseases associated with older age. Disorientation is one of the first things to happen to people with dementia or Alzheimer's. "They get lost very easily," said J. David Dickman, Ph.D., professor of neuroscience at Baylor, whose lab is hosting Lefeldt's project. "Most of the Silver Alerts that you see on your way home on the highway are people who have gotten in their car and driven off and don't know how to get back. People with these diseases … have to be followed all the time or somebody has to be with them." Earth's magnetic field helps shield the planet from solar wind—charged particles from the sun that could I had to go down to the police station and get my arrested pigeon back. — NELE LEFELDT, PH.D. Postdoctoral associate at Baylor College of Medicine B y S h a n l e y C h i e n Above: Nele Lefeldt, Ph.D., postdoctoral associate at Baylor College of Medicine, releases a pigeon on top of the Services and Radiology Building, where the birds reside. Below: Pigeons in the study wear small GPS backpacks that allow Lefeldt to track their location, position, direction, speed, acceleration and altitude.