Selective activation of the right hippocampus during navigation by spatial cues in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus)

•Right hippocampal advantage for spatial orientation in domestic chicks.•Chicks could orient by relational spatial information or local cues.•Hippocampal activation was measured by the density of c-Fos expression.•Higher activation in the right than in the left hippocampus for the spatial group.•Higher activation in the right hippocampus of the spatial than the local group.