1
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Monchanin C, Drujont E, Le Roux G, Lösel PD, Barron AB, Devaud JM, Elger A, Lihoreau M. Environmental exposure to metallic pollution impairs honey bee brain development and cognition. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 465:133218. [PMID: 38113738 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.133218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Laboratory studies show detrimental effects of metallic pollutants on invertebrate behaviour and cognition, even at low levels. Here we report a field study on Western honey bees exposed to metal and metalloid pollution through dusts, food and water at a historic mining site. We analysed more than 1000 bees from five apiaries along a gradient of contamination within 11 km of a former gold mine in Southern France. Bees collected close to the mine exhibited olfactory learning performances lower by 36% and heads smaller by 4%. Three-dimensional scans of bee brains showed that the olfactory centres of insects sampled close to the mine were also 4% smaller, indicating neurodevelopmental issues. Our study raises serious concerns about the health of honey bee populations in areas polluted with potentially harmful elements, particularly with arsenic, and illustrates how standard cognitive tests can be used for risk assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coline Monchanin
- CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, France; Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, France; Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia
| | - Erwann Drujont
- CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, France; Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, France
| | - Gaël Le Roux
- Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Philipp D Lösel
- Engineering Mathematics and Computing Lab (EMCL), Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, Germany; Department of Materials Physics, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, ACT, Australia
| | - Andrew B Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia
| | - Jean-Marc Devaud
- CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, France; Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, France
| | - Arnaud Elger
- Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, France; Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, France.
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2
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Lafon G, Paoli M, Paffhausen BH, Sanchez GDB, Lihoreau M, Avarguès-Weber A, Giurfa M. Efficient visual learning by bumble bees in virtual-reality conditions: Size does not matter. INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 30:1734-1748. [PMID: 36734172 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Recent developments allowed establishing virtual-reality (VR) setups to study multiple aspects of visual learning in honey bees under controlled experimental conditions. Here, we adopted a VR environment to investigate the visual learning in the buff-tailed bumble bee Bombus terrestris. Based on responses to appetitive and aversive reinforcements used for conditioning, we show that bumble bees had the proper appetitive motivation to engage in the VR experiments and that they learned efficiently elemental color discriminations. In doing so, they reduced the latency to make a choice, increased the proportion of direct paths toward the virtual stimuli and walked faster toward them. Performance in a short-term retention test showed that bumble bees chose and fixated longer on the correct stimulus in the absence of reinforcement. Body size and weight, although variable across individuals, did not affect cognitive performances and had a mild impact on motor performances. Overall, we show that bumble bees are suitable experimental subjects for experiments on visual learning under VR conditions, which opens important perspectives for invasive studies on the neural and molecular bases of such learning given the robustness of these insects and the accessibility of their brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory Lafon
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Marco Paoli
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Benjamin H Paffhausen
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Gabriela de Brito Sanchez
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Aurore Avarguès-Weber
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
- French Academy of Sciences for University Professors, Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
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3
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Lösel PD, Monchanin C, Lebrun R, Jayme A, Relle JJ, Devaud JM, Heuveline V, Lihoreau M. Natural variability in bee brain size and symmetry revealed by micro-CT imaging and deep learning. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011529. [PMID: 37782674 PMCID: PMC10569549 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Analysing large numbers of brain samples can reveal minor, but statistically and biologically relevant variations in brain morphology that provide critical insights into animal behaviour, ecology and evolution. So far, however, such analyses have required extensive manual effort, which considerably limits the scope for comparative research. Here we used micro-CT imaging and deep learning to perform automated analyses of 3D image data from 187 honey bee and bumblebee brains. We revealed strong inter-individual variations in total brain size that are consistent across colonies and species, and may underpin behavioural variability central to complex social organisations. In addition, the bumblebee dataset showed a significant level of lateralization in optic and antennal lobes, providing a potential explanation for reported variations in visual and olfactory learning. Our fast, robust and user-friendly approach holds considerable promises for carrying out large-scale quantitative neuroanatomical comparisons across a wider range of animals. Ultimately, this will help address fundamental unresolved questions related to the evolution of animal brains and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp D. Lösel
- Engineering Mathematics and Computing Lab (EMCL), Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Data Mining and Uncertainty Quantification (DMQ), Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Materials Physics, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Coline Monchanin
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier – Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Renaud Lebrun
- Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier, CC64, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- BioCampus, Montpellier Ressources Imagerie, CNRS, INSERM, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Alejandra Jayme
- Engineering Mathematics and Computing Lab (EMCL), Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Data Mining and Uncertainty Quantification (DMQ), Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jacob J. Relle
- Engineering Mathematics and Computing Lab (EMCL), Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Data Mining and Uncertainty Quantification (DMQ), Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jean-Marc Devaud
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier – Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Vincent Heuveline
- Engineering Mathematics and Computing Lab (EMCL), Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Data Mining and Uncertainty Quantification (DMQ), Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Heidelberg, Germany
- Heidelberg University Computing Centre (URZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier – Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
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4
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Chandak P, Chakraborti U, Annagiri S. Using pupae as appetitive reinforcement to study visual and tactile associative learning in the Ponerine ant Diacamma indicum. Sci Rep 2023; 13:15609. [PMID: 37731033 PMCID: PMC10511714 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42439-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Associative learning is of great importance to animals, as it enhances their ability to navigate, forage, evade predation and improve fitness. Even though associative learning abilities of Hymenopterans have been explored, many of these studies offered food as appetitive reinforcement. In the current study, we focus on tactile and visual cue learning in an ant Diacamma indicum using a Y-maze setup with pupa as a positive reinforcement. Using pupa as a reward resulted in a significantly higher proportion of ants completing the training in a shorter time as compared to using food as reinforcement. Ants spent significantly more time in the conditioned arm for both visual cues (white dots or black dots) and tactile cues (rough or smooth surfaces) presented on the floor when associated with pupa, thus showing that they were capable of associative learning. On encountering a conflict between visual and tactile cues during the test, ants chose to spend significantly more time on the arm with the tactile cues indicating that they had made a stronger association between pupa and the tactile cue as compared to the visual cue during training. Using pupa as an ecologically relevant reward, we show that these solitary foraging ants living in small colonies are capable of visual and tactile associative learning and are likely to learn tactile cues over visual cues in association with pupa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parth Chandak
- Behaviour and Ecology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohanpur, Kolkata, 741246, India
| | - Udipta Chakraborti
- Behaviour and Ecology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohanpur, Kolkata, 741246, India
| | - Sumana Annagiri
- Behaviour and Ecology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohanpur, Kolkata, 741246, India.
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5
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Kraft N, Muenz TS, Reinhard S, Werner C, Sauer M, Groh C, Rössler W. Expansion microscopy in honeybee brains for high-resolution neuroanatomical analyses in social insects. Cell Tissue Res 2023; 393:489-506. [PMID: 37421435 PMCID: PMC10484815 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-023-03803-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/10/2023]
Abstract
The diffraction limit of light microscopy poses a problem that is frequently faced in structural analyses of social insect brains. With the introduction of expansion microscopy (ExM), a tool became available to overcome this limitation by isotropic physical expansion of preserved specimens. Our analyses focus on synaptic microcircuits (microglomeruli, MG) in the mushroom body (MB) of social insects, high-order brain centers for sensory integration, learning, and memory. MG undergo significant structural reorganizations with age, sensory experience, and during long-term memory formation. However, the changes in subcellular architecture involved in this plasticity have only partially been accessed yet. Using the western honeybee Apis mellifera as an experimental model, we established ExM for the first time in a social insect species and applied it to investigate plasticity in synaptic microcircuits within MG of the MB calyces. Using combinations of antibody staining and neuronal tracing, we demonstrate that this technique enables quantitative and qualitative analyses of structural neuronal plasticity at high resolution in a social insect brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Kraft
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius Maximilian University, Würzburg, 97074, Germany.
| | - Thomas S Muenz
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius Maximilian University, Würzburg, 97074, Germany
| | - Sebastian Reinhard
- Department of Biotechnology and Biophysics, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius Maximilian University, Würzburg, 97074, Germany
| | - Christian Werner
- Department of Biotechnology and Biophysics, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius Maximilian University, Würzburg, 97074, Germany
| | - Markus Sauer
- Department of Biotechnology and Biophysics, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius Maximilian University, Würzburg, 97074, Germany
| | - Claudia Groh
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius Maximilian University, Würzburg, 97074, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Rössler
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius Maximilian University, Würzburg, 97074, Germany
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6
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Paoli M, Macri C, Giurfa M. A cognitive account of trace conditioning in insects. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 57:101034. [PMID: 37044245 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Trace conditioning is a form of Pavlovian learning in which the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US) are separated by a temporal gap. Insects learn trace associations of variable nature (appetitive, aversive) and involving CSs of different sensory modalities (olfactory, visual). The accessibility of the insect neural system in behaving animals allowed identifying neural processes driving trace conditioning: the existence of prolonged neural responses to the CS after stimulus offset and the anticipation of US responses during the free-stimulus gap. Specific brain structures, such as the mushroom bodies seem to be allocated to this learning form. Here, we posit that a further component facilitating trace conditioning in insects relates to neuromodulatory mechanisms underlying enhanced attention. We thus propose a model based on different types of mushroom-body neurons, which provides a cognitive account of trace conditioning in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Paoli
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Catherine Macri
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France.
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7
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da Silva RC, Aguiar JMRBV, Oi CA, Batista JE, Giurfa M, do Nascimento FS. Sex and lifestyle dictate learning performance in a neotropical wasp. iScience 2023; 26:106469. [PMID: 37091245 PMCID: PMC10113769 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In contrast to extensive investigations on bee cognition, the cognitive capacities of wasps remain largely unexplored despite their key role as pollinators and predators of insect pests. Here we studied learning and memory in the neotropical wasp Mischocyttarus cerberus using a Pavlovian conditioning in which harnessed wasps respond with conditioned movements of their mouthparts to a learned odorant. We focused on the different castes, sexes, and ages coexisting within a nest and found that adults of M. cerberus learned and memorized efficiently the odor-sugar associations. In contrast, newly emerged females, but not males, were unable to learn odorants. This difference concurs with their different lifestyle as young males perform regular excursions outside the nest while young females remain in it until older age. Our results thus highlight the importance of socio-ecological constraints on wasp cognition and set the basis for mechanistic studies on learning differences across ages and castes.
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8
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Ortega-Escobar J, Hebets EA, Bingman VP, Wiegmann DD, Gaffin DD. Comparative biology of spatial navigation in three arachnid orders (Amblypygi, Araneae, and Scorpiones). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023:10.1007/s00359-023-01612-2. [PMID: 36781447 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01612-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
From both comparative biology and translational research perspectives, there is escalating interest in understanding how animals navigate their environments. Considerable work is being directed towards understanding the sensory transduction and neural processing of environmental stimuli that guide animals to, for example, food and shelter. While much has been learned about the spatial orientation behavior, sensory cues, and neurophysiology of champion navigators such as bees and ants, many other, often overlooked animal species possess extraordinary sensory and spatial capabilities that can broaden our understanding of the behavioral and neural mechanisms of animal navigation. For example, arachnids are predators that often return to retreats after hunting excursions. Many of these arachnid central-place foragers are large and highly conducive to scientific investigation. In this review we highlight research on three orders within the Class Arachnida: Amblypygi (whip spiders), Araneae (spiders), and Scorpiones (scorpions). For each, we describe (I) their natural history and spatial navigation, (II) how they sense the world, (III) what information they use to navigate, and (IV) how they process information for navigation. We discuss similarities and differences among the groups and highlight potential avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eileen A Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology and J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA
| | - Daniel D Wiegmann
- Department of Biological Sciences and J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA
| | - Douglas D Gaffin
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
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9
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Hill L, Gérard M, Hildebrandt F, Baird E. Bumblebee cognitive abilities are robust to changes in colony size. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03299-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Eusocial insect colonies act as a superorganism, which can improve their ability to buffer the negative impact of some anthropogenic stressors. However, this buffering effect can be affected by anthropogenic factors that reduce their colony size. A reduction in colony size is known to negatively affect several parameters like brood maintenance or thermoregulation, but the effects on behaviour and cognition have been largely overlooked. It remains unclear how a sudden change in group size, such as that which might be caused by anthropogenic stressors, affects individual behaviour within a colony. In this study, the bumblebee Bombus terrestris was used to study the effect of social group size on behaviour by comparing the associative learning capabilities of individuals from colonies that were unmanipulated, reduced to a normal size (a colony of 100 workers) or reduced to a critically low but functional size (a colony of 20 workers). The results demonstrated that workers from the different treatments performed equally well in associative learning tasks, which also included no significant differences in the learning capacity of workers that had fully developed after the colony size manipulation. Furthermore, we found that the size of workers had no impact on associative learning ability. The learning abilities of bumblebee workers were thus resilient to the colony reduction they encountered. Our study is a first step towards understanding how eusocial insect cognition can be impacted by drastic reductions in colony size.
Significance statement
While anthropogenic stressors can reduce the colony size of eusocial insects, the impact of this reduction is poorly studied, particularly among bumblebees. We hypothesised that colony size reduction would affect the cognitive capacity of worker bumblebees as a result of fewer social interactions or potential undernourishment. Using differential conditioning, we showed that drastic reductions in colony size have no effect on the associative learning capabilities of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris and that this was the same for individuals that were tested just after the colony reduction and individuals that fully developed under the colony size reduction. We also showed that body size did not affect learning capabilities. This resilience could be an efficient buffer against the ongoing impacts of global change.
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Bleichman I, Yadav P, Ayali A. Visual processing and collective motion-related decision-making in desert locusts. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20221862. [PMID: 36651041 PMCID: PMC9845972 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Collectively moving groups of animals rely on the decision-making of locally interacting individuals in order to maintain swarm cohesion. However, the complex and noisy visual environment poses a major challenge to the extraction and processing of relevant information. We addressed this challenge by studying swarming-related decision-making in desert locust last-instar nymphs. Controlled visual stimuli, in the form of random dot kinematograms, were presented to tethered locust nymphs in a trackball set-up, while monitoring movement trajectory and walking parameters. In a complementary set of experiments, the neurophysiological basis of the observed behavioural responses was explored. Our results suggest that locusts use filtering and discrimination upon encountering multiple stimuli simultaneously. Specifically, we show that locusts are sensitive to differences in speed at the individual conspecific level, and to movement coherence at the group level, and may use these to filter out non-relevant stimuli. The locusts also discriminate and assign different weights to different stimuli, with an observed interactive effect of stimulus size, relative abundance and motion direction. Our findings provide insights into the cognitive abilities of locusts in the domain of decision-making and visual-based collective motion, and support locusts as a model for investigating sensory-motor integration and motion-related decision-making in the intricate swarm environment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pratibha Yadav
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Israel,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Israel
| | - Amir Ayali
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Israel,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Israel
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11
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Poissonnier LA, Tait C, Lihoreau M. What is really social about social insect cognition? Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1001045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
It is often assumed that social life imposes specific cognitive demands for animals to communicate, cooperate and compete, ultimately requiring larger brains. The “social brain” hypothesis is supported by data in primates and some other vertebrates, but doubts have been raised over its applicability to other taxa, and in particular insects. Here, we review recent advances in insect cognition research and ask whether we can identify cognitive capacities that are specific to social species. One difficulty involved in testing the social brain hypothesis in insects is that many of the model species used in cognition studies are highly social (eusocial), and comparatively little work has been done in insects that live in less integrated social structures or that are solitary. As more species are studied, it is becoming clear that insects share a rich cognitive repertoire and that these abilities are not directly related to their level of social complexity. Moreover, some of the cognitive mechanisms involved in many social interactions may not differ from those involved in non-social behaviors. We discuss the need for a more comparative and neurobiologically grounded research agenda to better understand the evolution of insect brains and cognition.
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12
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Finke V, Scheiner R, Giurfa M, Avarguès-Weber A. Individual consistency in the learning abilities of honey bees: cognitive specialization within sensory and reinforcement modalities. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:909-928. [PMID: 36609813 PMCID: PMC10066154 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01741-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The question of whether individuals perform consistently across a variety of cognitive tasks is relevant for studies of comparative cognition. The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is an appropriate model to study cognitive consistency as its learning can be studied in multiple elemental and non-elemental learning tasks. We took advantage of this possibility and studied if the ability of honey bees to learn a simple discrimination correlates with their ability to solve two tasks of higher complexity, reversal learning and negative patterning. We performed four experiments in which we varied the sensory modality of the stimuli (visual or olfactory) and the type (Pavlovian or operant) and complexity (elemental or non-elemental) of conditioning to examine if stable correlated performances could be observed across experiments. Across all experiments, an individual's proficiency to learn the simple discrimination task was positively and significantly correlated with performance in both reversal learning and negative patterning, while the performances in reversal learning and negative patterning were positively, yet not significantly correlated. These results suggest that correlated performances across learning paradigms represent a distinct cognitive characteristic of bees. Further research is necessary to examine if individual cognitive consistency can be found in other insect species as a common characteristic of insect brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerie Finke
- Zoologie II, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany. .,Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France.
| | - Ricarda Scheiner
- Zoologie II, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | - Aurore Avarguès-Weber
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France
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13
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Baran B, Krzyżowski M, Rádai Z, Francikowski J, Hohol M. Geometry-based navigation in the dark: layout symmetry facilitates spatial learning in the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, in the absence of visual cues. Anim Cogn 2022; 26:755-770. [PMID: 36369419 PMCID: PMC10066172 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01712-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe capacity to navigate by layout geometry has been widely recognized as a robust strategy of place-finding. It has been reported in various species, although most studies were performed with vision-based paradigms. In the presented study, we aimed to investigate layout symmetry-based navigation in the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, in the absence of visual cues. For this purpose, we used a non-visual paradigm modeled on the Tennessee Williams setup. We ensured that the visual cues were indeed inaccessible to insects. In the main experiment, we tested whether crickets are capable of learning to localize the centrally positioned, inconspicuous cool spot in heated arenas of various shapes (i.e., circular, square, triangular, and asymmetric quadrilateral). We found that the symmetry of the arena significantly facilitates crickets’ learning to find the cool spot, indicated by the increased time spent on the cool spot and the decreased latency in locating it in subsequent trials. To investigate mechanisms utilized by crickets, we analyzed their approach paths to the spot. We found that crickets used both heuristic and directed strategies of approaching the target, with the dominance of a semi-directed strategy (i.e., a thigmotactic phase preceding direct navigation to the target). We propose that the poor performance of crickets in the asymmetrical quadrilateral arena may be explained by the difficulty of encoding its layout with cues from a single modality.
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14
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Prior associations affect bumblebees’ generalization performance in a tool-selection task. iScience 2022; 25:105466. [DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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15
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Martinez-Cervantes J, Shah P, Phan A, Cervantes-Sandoval I. Higher-order unimodal olfactory sensory preconditioning in Drosophila. eLife 2022; 11:e79107. [PMID: 36129180 PMCID: PMC9566850 DOI: 10.7554/elife.79107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning and memory storage is a complex process that has proven challenging to tackle. It is likely that, in nature, the instructive value of reinforcing experiences is acquired rather than innate. The association between seemingly neutral stimuli increases the gamut of possibilities to create meaningful associations and the predictive power of moment-by-moment experiences. Here, we report physiological and behavioral evidence of olfactory unimodal sensory preconditioning in fruit flies. We show that the presentation of a pair of odors (S1 and S2) before one of them (S1) is associated with electric shocks elicits a conditional response not only to the trained odor (S1) but to the odor previously paired with it (S2). This occurs even if the S2 odor was never presented in contiguity with the aversive stimulus. In addition, we show that inhibition of the small G protein Rac1, a known forgetting regulator, facilitates the association between S1/S2 odors. These results indicate that flies can infer value to olfactory stimuli based on the previous associative structure between odors, and that inhibition of Rac1 lengthens the time window of the olfactory 'sensory buffer', allowing the establishment of associations between odors presented in sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Prachi Shah
- Department of Biology, Georgetown UniversityWashington, DCUnited States
| | - Anna Phan
- Department of Biological Sciences and Neuroscience & Mental Health Institute, University of AlbertaEdmontonCanada
| | - Isaac Cervantes-Sandoval
- Department of Biology, Georgetown UniversityWashington, DCUnited States
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown UniversityWashington, DCUnited States
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16
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Gérard M, Amiri A, Cariou B, Baird E. Short-term exposure to heatwave-like temperatures affects learning and memory in bumblebees. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:4251-4259. [PMID: 35429217 PMCID: PMC9541601 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Global warming has been identified as a key driver of bee declines around the world. While it is clear that elevated temperatures during the spring and summer months-the principal activity period of many bee species-is a factor in this decline, exactly how temperature affects bee survival is unknown. In vertebrates, there is clear evidence that elevated ambient temperatures impair cognition but whether and how heat affects the cognitive abilities of invertebrates remains unclear. Cognitive skills in bees are essential for their survival as, to supply the hive with nutrition, workers must be able to learn and remember the location of the most rewarding floral resources. Here, we investigate whether temperature-related cognitive impairments could be a driver of bee declines by exploring the effect of short-term increases in ambient temperature on learning and memory. We found that, in comparison to bees that were tested at 25°C (a temperature that they would typically experience in summer), bees that were exposed to 32°C (a temperature that they will becoming increasingly exposed to during heatwave events) were significantly worse at forming an association between a coloured light and a sucrose reward and that their capacity to remember this association after just 1 h was abolished. This study provides novel experimental evidence that even just a few hours of exposure to heatwave-like temperatures can severely impair the cognitive performance of insects. Such temperature-induced cognitive deficits could play an important role in explaining recent and future bee population declines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxence Gérard
- INSECT LabDivision of Functional MorphologyDepartment of ZoologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - Anahit Amiri
- INSECT LabDivision of Functional MorphologyDepartment of ZoologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
- Faculté des Sciences et IngénierieSorbonne UniversitéParisFrance
| | - Bérénice Cariou
- INSECT LabDivision of Functional MorphologyDepartment of ZoologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
- Faculté des Sciences et IngénierieSorbonne UniversitéParisFrance
| | - Emily Baird
- INSECT LabDivision of Functional MorphologyDepartment of ZoologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
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17
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Adam E, Hansson BS, Knaden M. Fast Learners: One Trial Olfactory Learning in Insects. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.876596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite their comparatively small brains, insects are able to survive and thrive in their environment. In the past, it was thought that insects are driven mainly by their instincts. However, today it is well established that they possess unique abilities to learn and use their experience in future decisions. Like many higher animals insects are able to acquire and retain information on when and where to forage, which mate to choose, where to lay their eggs and how to navigate in complex habitats. Learning can be surprisingly fast with only one single encounter with a suitable food source or oviposition site shaping an insect's preference for up to a lifetime. In this review, we discuss the scope and limits of insect learning, focusing in specific on olfactory learning, and we raise the question whether currently used learning paradigms in artificial lab set-ups are able to answer all ecologically relevant questions.
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18
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Lafon G, Geng H, Avarguès-Weber A, Buatois A, Massou I, Giurfa M. The Neural Signature of Visual Learning Under Restrictive Virtual-Reality Conditions. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:846076. [PMID: 35250505 PMCID: PMC8888666 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.846076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Honey bees are reputed for their remarkable visual learning and navigation capabilities. These capacities can be studied in virtual reality (VR) environments, which allow studying performances of tethered animals in stationary flight or walk under full control of the sensory environment. Here, we used a 2D VR setup in which a tethered bee walking stationary under restrictive closed-loop conditions learned to discriminate vertical rectangles differing in color and reinforcing outcome. Closed-loop conditions restricted stimulus control to lateral displacements. Consistently with prior VR analyses, bees learned to discriminate the trained stimuli. Ex vivo analyses on the brains of learners and non-learners showed that successful learning led to a downregulation of three immediate early genes in the main regions of the visual circuit, the optic lobes (OLs) and the calyces of the mushroom bodies (MBs). While Egr1 was downregulated in the OLs, Hr38 and kakusei were coincidently downregulated in the calyces of the MBs. Our work thus reveals that color discrimination learning induced a neural signature distributed along the sequential pathway of color processing that is consistent with an inhibitory trace. This trace may relate to the motor patterns required to solve the discrimination task, which are different from those underlying pathfinding in 3D VR scenarios allowing for navigation and exploratory learning and which lead to IEG upregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory Lafon
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Haiyang Geng
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Aurore Avarguès-Weber
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Alexis Buatois
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Isabelle Massou
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
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19
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Visual learning in a virtual reality environment upregulates immediate early gene expression in the mushroom bodies of honey bees. Commun Biol 2022; 5:130. [PMID: 35165405 PMCID: PMC8844430 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03075-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Free-flying bees learn efficiently to solve numerous visual tasks. Yet, the neural underpinnings of this capacity remain unexplored. We used a 3D virtual reality (VR) environment to study visual learning and determine if it leads to changes in immediate early gene (IEG) expression in specific areas of the bee brain. We focused on kakusei, Hr38 and Egr1, three IEGs that have been related to bee foraging and orientation, and compared their relative expression in the calyces of the mushroom bodies, the optic lobes and the rest of the brain after color discrimination learning. Bees learned to discriminate virtual stimuli displaying different colors and retained the information learned. Successful learners exhibited Egr1 upregulation only in the calyces of the mushroom bodies, thus uncovering a privileged involvement of these brain regions in associative color learning and the usefulness of Egr1 as a marker of neural activity induced by this phenomenon.
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20
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Straub L, Minnameyer A, Camenzind D, Kalbermatten I, Tosi S, Van Oystaeyen A, Wäckers F, Neumann P, Strobl V. Thiamethoxam as an inadvertent anti-aphrodisiac in male bees. Toxicol Rep 2022; 9:36-45. [PMID: 34987978 PMCID: PMC8693414 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
There is consensus that neonicotinoids can impact non-target animal fertility. Thiamethoxam reduced both mating success and sperm physiology in bumblebees. Queens mated by exposed males had 50% less total living sperm in their spermatheca. Thiamethoxam may act as anti-aphrodisiac, thereby limiting conservation efforts.
Sexual reproduction is common to almost all multi-cellular organisms and can be compromised by environmental pollution, thereby affecting entire populations. Even though there is consensus that neonicotinoid insecticides can impact non-target animal fertility, their possible impact on male mating success is currently unknown in bees. Here, we show that sublethal exposure to a neonicotinoid significantly reduces both mating success and sperm traits of male bumblebees. Sexually mature male Bombus terrestris exposed to a field-realistic concentration of thiamethoxam (20 ng g−1) or not (controls) were mated with virgin gynes in the laboratory. The results confirm sublethal negative effects of thiamethoxam on sperm quantity and viability. While the latency to mate was reduced, mating success was significantly impaired in thiamethoxam-exposed males by 32% probably due to female choice. Gynes mated by exposed males revealed impaired sperm traits compared to their respective controls, which may lead to severe constraints for colony fitness. Our laboratory findings demonstrate for the first time that neonicotinoid insecticides can negatively affect male mating success in bees. Given that holds true for the field, this provides a plausible mechanism contributing to declines of wild bee populations globally. The widespread prophylactic use of neonicotinoids may therefore have previously overlooked inadvertent anti-aphrodisiac effects on non-target animals, thereby limiting conservation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Straub
- Institute of Bee Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Angela Minnameyer
- Institute of Bee Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Domenic Camenzind
- Institute of Bee Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Simone Tosi
- Department of Agricultural, Forest, and Food Sciences, University of Turin, Italy
| | | | | | - Peter Neumann
- Institute of Bee Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Verena Strobl
- Institute of Bee Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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21
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Rößler DC, De Agrò M, Kim K, Shamble PS. Static visual predator recognition in jumping spiders. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniela C. Rößler
- John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellows Program Harvard University Cambridge MA USA
- Zukunftskolleg University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Department of Collective Behavior Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Konstanz Germany
| | - Massimo De Agrò
- John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellows Program Harvard University Cambridge MA USA
- Institute of Zoology University of Regensburg Regensburg Germany
| | - Kris Kim
- John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellows Program Harvard University Cambridge MA USA
| | - Paul S. Shamble
- John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellows Program Harvard University Cambridge MA USA
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22
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Finke V, Baracchi D, Giurfa M, Scheiner R, Avarguès-Weber A. Evidence of cognitive specialization in an insect: proficiency is maintained across elemental and higher-order visual learning but not between sensory modalities in honey bees. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:273769. [PMID: 34664669 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Individuals differing in their cognitive abilities and foraging strategies may confer a valuable benefit to their social groups as variability may help responding flexibly in scenarios with different resource availability. Individual learning proficiency may either be absolute or vary with the complexity or the nature of the problem considered. Determining if learning abilities correlate between tasks of different complexity or between sensory modalities has a high interest for research on brain modularity and task-dependent specialisation of neural circuits. The honeybee Apis mellifera constitutes an attractive model to address this question due to its capacity to successfully learn a large range of tasks in various sensory domains. Here we studied whether the performance of individual bees in a simple visual discrimination task (a discrimination between two visual shapes) is stable over time and correlates with their capacity to solve either a higher-order visual task (a conceptual discrimination based on spatial relations between objects) or an elemental olfactory task (a discrimination between two odorants). We found that individual learning proficiency within a given task was maintained over time and that some individuals performed consistently better than others within the visual modality, thus showing consistent aptitude across visual tasks of different complexity. By contrast, performance in the elemental visual-learning task did not predict performance in the equivalent elemental olfactory task. Overall, our results suggest the existence of cognitive specialisation within the hive, which may contribute to ecological social success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerie Finke
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse; CNRS, UPS, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France.,Biozentrum, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - David Baracchi
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse; CNRS, UPS, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France.,Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse; CNRS, UPS, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | - Ricarda Scheiner
- Biozentrum, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Aurore Avarguès-Weber
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse; CNRS, UPS, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France
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23
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Nieder A. Consciousness without cortex. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 71:69-76. [PMID: 34656051 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Sensory consciousness - the awareness and ability to report subjective experiences - is a property of biological nervous systems that has evolved out of unconscious processing over hundreds of millions of years. From which brain structures and based on which mechanisms can conscious experience emerge? Based on the body of work in human and nonhuman primates, the emergence of consciousness is intimately associated with the workings of the mammalian cerebral cortex with its specific cell types and layered structure. However, recent neurophysiological recordings demonstrate a neuronal correlate of consciousness in the pallial endbrain of crows. These telencephalic integration centers in birds originate embryonically from other pallial territories, lack a layered architecture characteristic for the cerebral cortex, and exhibit independently evolved pallial cell types. This argues that the mammalian cerebral cortex is not a prerequisite for consciousness to emerge in all vertebrates. Rather, it seems that the anatomical and physiological principles of the telencephalic pallium offer this structure as a brain substrate for consciousness to evolve independently across vertebrate phylogeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
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24
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Rowell MK, Rymer TL. Memory enhances problem solving in the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:347-358. [PMID: 34453668 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01556-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Problem solving is important for survival, allowing animals to access novel food resources or escape from predators. It was originally thought to rely on an animal's intelligence; however, studies examining the relationship between individual cognitive ability and problem solving performance show mixed results, and studies are often restricted to only one cognitive and one problem solving task. We investigated the relationship between general cognitive ability and problem solving across multiple tasks in the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes. We measured general cognitive ability across different domains (memory in an odour learning association task, recognition in a novel object recognition task, size discrimination using different sized pieces of food, and learning across multiple presentations of a food-baited activity board). We also measured problem solving across different contexts (food-baited puzzle boxes in home cage, obstruction task, and food-baited activity board in a novel arena). Mosaic-tailed rats showed a general cognitive ability, with average problem solving latency, memory ability, and learning in the tile task being correlated. As such, individuals that were able to remember an association and learned to solve the tile task solved the problems faster than individuals that could not remember or learn. Our results suggest that problem solving in mosaic-tailed rats likely relies on some forms of simple cognition, particularly memory, but could also depend on other traits, such as an individual's persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misha K Rowell
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia. .,Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia.
| | - Tasmin L Rymer
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia.,Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia
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25
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Kishani Farahani H, Moghadassi Y, Pierre JS, Kraus S, Lihoreau M. Poor adult nutrition impairs learning and memory in a parasitoid wasp. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16220. [PMID: 34376777 PMCID: PMC8355316 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95664-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals have evolved cognitive abilities whose impairment can incur dramatic fitness costs. While malnutrition is known to impact brain development and cognitive functions in vertebrates, little is known in insects whose small brain appears particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors. Here, we investigated the influence of diet quality on learning and memory in the parasitoid wasp Venturia canescens. Newly emerged adults were exposed for 24 h to either honey, 20% sucrose solution, 10% sucrose solution, or water, before being conditioned in an olfactory associative learning task in which an odor was associated to a host larvae (reward). Honey fed wasps showed 3.5 times higher learning performances and 1.5 times longer memory retention than wasps fed sucrose solutions or water. Poor diets also reduced longevity and fecundity. Our results demonstrate the importance of early adult nutrition for optimal cognitive function in these parasitoid wasps that must quickly develop long-term olfactory memories for searching suitable hosts for their progeny.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yasaman Moghadassi
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karajs, Iran
| | - Jean-Sebastien Pierre
- Rennes 1, UMR-CNRS 6553 EcoBio, University of, Avenue du Général Leclerc, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France
| | - Stéphane Kraus
- Research Center On Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, UMR 5169 CNRS, University of Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Research Center On Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, UMR 5169 CNRS, University of Toulouse III, Toulouse, France.
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26
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Toh YP, Dion E, Monteiro A. Dissections of Larval, Pupal and Adult Butterfly Brains for Immunostaining and Molecular Analysis. Methods Protoc 2021; 4:53. [PMID: 34449688 PMCID: PMC8395752 DOI: 10.3390/mps4030053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Butterflies possess impressive cognitive abilities, and investigations into the neural mechanisms underlying these abilities are increasingly being conducted. Exploring butterfly neurobiology may require the isolation of larval, pupal, and/or adult brains for further molecular and histological experiments. This procedure has been largely described in the fruit fly, but a detailed description of butterfly brain dissections is still lacking. Here, we provide a detailed written and video protocol for the removal of Bicyclus anynana adult, pupal, and larval brains. This species is gradually becoming a popular model because it uses a large set of sensory modalities, displays plastic and hormonally controlled courtship behaviour, and learns visual mate preference and olfactory preferences that can be passed on to its offspring. The extracted brain can be used for downstream analyses, such as immunostaining, DNA or RNA extraction, and the procedure can be easily adapted to other lepidopteran species and life stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Peng Toh
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore; (Y.P.T.); (A.M.)
| | - Emilie Dion
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore; (Y.P.T.); (A.M.)
| | - Antónia Monteiro
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore; (Y.P.T.); (A.M.)
- Yale-NUS College, 10 College Avenue West, Singapore 138609, Singapore
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27
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Vesterberg A, Rizkalla R, Fitzpatrick MJ. Environmental influences on for-mediated oviposition decisions in Drosophila melanogaster. J Neurogenet 2021; 35:262-273. [PMID: 34259125 DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2021.1950713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Deciding whether or not to lay an egg on a given substrate is an important task undertaken by females of many arthropods. It involves perceiving the environment (e.g. quality of the substrate, temperature, and humidity), formulating a decision, and then conducting the appropriate behaviours to oviposit. This oviposition site selection (OSS) provides a useful system for studying simple decision-making. OSS in fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, is influenced by both genetic and environmental variation. Naturally occurring allelic variation in the foraging gene (for) is known to affect OSS. Given a choice of high- and low-nutrient oviposition substrates, groups of rovers (forR) are known to lay significantly more of their eggs on low-nutrient sites than sitters (fors) and sitter mutants (fors2). Here we ask three questions: (1) Is the role of for in OSS affected by the availability of alternate oviposition sites? (2) Is the role of for in OSS sensitive to the density of ovipositing females? and (3) Does the gustatory sensation of yeast play a role in for-mediated variation in OSS? We find a role of choice and female density in rover/sitter differences in OSS, as well as a role of for in response to glycerol, an indicator of yeast. The role of for in OSS decision-making is complex and multi-faceted and should prove fertile ground for further research into the factors affecting decision-making behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anders Vesterberg
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada.,Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Rudy Rizkalla
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada
| | - Mark J Fitzpatrick
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada.,Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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Dubois T, Pasquaretta C, Barron AB, Gautrais J, Lihoreau M. A model of resource partitioning between foraging bees based on learning. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009260. [PMID: 34319987 PMCID: PMC8351995 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Central place foraging pollinators tend to develop multi-destination routes (traplines) to exploit patchily distributed plant resources. While the formation of traplines by individual pollinators has been studied in detail, how populations of foragers use resources in a common area is an open question, difficult to address experimentally. We explored conditions for the emergence of resource partitioning among traplining bees using agent-based models built from experimental data of bumblebees foraging on artificial flowers. In the models, bees learn to develop routes as a consequence of feedback loops that change their probabilities of moving between flowers. While a positive reinforcement of movements leading to rewarding flowers is sufficient for the emergence of resource partitioning when flowers are evenly distributed, the addition of a negative reinforcement of movements leading to unrewarding flowers is necessary when flowers are patchily distributed. In environments with more complex spatial structures, the negative experiences of individual bees on flowers favour spatial segregation and efficient collective foraging. Our study fills a major gap in modelling pollinator behaviour and constitutes a unique tool to guide future experimental programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibault Dubois
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier–Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Cristian Pasquaretta
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier–Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Andrew B. Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jacques Gautrais
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier–Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier–Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
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Nectar non-protein amino acids (NPAAs) do not change nectar palatability but enhance learning and memory in honey bees. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11721. [PMID: 34083559 PMCID: PMC8175726 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90895-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Floral nectar is a pivotal element of the intimate relationship between plants and pollinators. Nectars are composed of a plethora of nutritionally valuable compounds but also hundreds of secondary metabolites (SMs) whose function remains elusive. Here we performed a set of behavioural experiments to study whether five ubiquitous nectar non-protein amino acids (NPAAs: β-alanine, GABA, citrulline, ornithine and taurine) interact with gustation, feeding preference, and learning and memory in Apis mellifera. We showed that foragers were unable to discriminate NPAAs from water when only accessing antennal chemo-tactile information and that freely moving bees did not exhibit innate feeding preferences for NPAAs. Also, NPAAs did not alter food consumption or longevity in caged bees over 10 days. Taken together our data suggest that natural concentrations of NPAAs did not alter nectar palatability to bees. Olfactory conditioning assays showed that honey bees were more likely to learn a scent when it signalled a sucrose reward containing either β-alanine or GABA, and that GABA enhanced specific memory retention. Conversely, when ingested two hours prior to conditioning, GABA, β-alanine, and taurine weakened bees' acquisition performances but not specific memory retention, which was enhanced in the case of β-alanine and taurine. Neither citrulline nor ornithine affected learning and memory. NPAAs in nectars may represent a cooperative strategy adopted by plants to attract beneficial pollinators.
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Constantino PB, Valentinuzzi VS, Helene AF. Division of labor in work shifts by leaf-cutting ants. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8737. [PMID: 33888758 PMCID: PMC8062660 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88005-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Foraging rhythms in eusocial insects are determined by the colony´s overall pattern. However, in leaf-cutting ant workers, individual rhythms are not fully synchronized with the colonies' rhythm. The colony as a whole is nocturnal, since most worker activity takes place at night; however some workers forage during the day. Previous studies in individualized ants suggest nocturnal and diurnal workers coexistence. Here observations within the colony, in leaf-cutting ants, showed that workers have differential foraging time preference, which interestingly is associated to body size and differential leaf transportation engagement. Nocturnal ants are smaller and less engaged in leaf transportation whereas diurnal ants are bigger and more engaged in leaf carriage. Mechanisms underlying division of labor in work shifts in ants are still unknown but much can be extrapolated from honeybees; another social system bearing a similar pattern. A collective organization like this favors constant exploitation of food sources while preserving natural individual rhythm patterns, which arise from individual differences, and thermal tolerance, given by the size polymorphism presented by this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro B Constantino
- Department of Physiology, Instituto de Biociências da Universidade de São Paulo (IB-USP), São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil.
| | - Veronica S Valentinuzzi
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR), UNLAR, SEGEMAR, UNCa, CONICET, Anillaco, La Rioja, Argentina
| | - André F Helene
- Department of Physiology, Instituto de Biociências da Universidade de São Paulo (IB-USP), São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
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31
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Romano D, Benelli G, Stefanini C. Opposite valence social information provided by bio-robotic demonstrators shapes selection processes in the green bottle fly. J R Soc Interface 2021; 18:20210056. [PMID: 33726543 PMCID: PMC8086872 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2021.0056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Social learning represents a high-level complex process to acquire information about the environment, which is increasingly reported in invertebrates. The animal-robot interaction paradigm turned out to be an encouraging strategy to unveil social learning in vertebrates, but it has not been fully exploited in invertebrates. In this study, Lucilia sericata adults were induced to observe bio-robotic conspecific and predator demonstrators to reproduce different flower foraging choices. Can a fly manage two flows of social information with opposite valence? Herein, we attempt a reply. The selection process of L. sericata was affected by social information provided through different bio-robotic demonstrators, by avoiding coloured discs previously visited by a bio-robotic predator and preferring coloured discs previously visited by a bio-robotic conspecific. When both bio-robotic demonstrators visited the same disc, the latency duration increased and the flies significantly tended to avoid this disc. This indicates the complex risk-benefit evaluation process carried out by L. sericata during the acquisition of such social information. Overall, this article provides a unique perspective on the behavioural ecology of social learning in non-social insects; it also highlights the high potential of the animal-robot interaction approach for unveiling the full spectrum of invertebrates' abilities in using social information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donato Romano
- The BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pisa, Pontedera 56025, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa 56127, Italy
| | - Giovanni Benelli
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Cesare Stefanini
- The BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pisa, Pontedera 56025, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa 56127, Italy
- Healthcare Engineering Innovation Center (HEIC), Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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32
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Bees and abstract concepts. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Aponte-Santiago NA, Littleton JT. Synaptic Properties and Plasticity Mechanisms of Invertebrate Tonic and Phasic Neurons. Front Physiol 2020; 11:611982. [PMID: 33391026 PMCID: PMC7772194 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.611982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Defining neuronal cell types and their associated biophysical and synaptic diversity has become an important goal in neuroscience as a mechanism to create comprehensive brain cell atlases in the post-genomic age. Beyond broad classification such as neurotransmitter expression, interneuron vs. pyramidal, sensory or motor, the field is still in the early stages of understanding closely related cell types. In both vertebrate and invertebrate nervous systems, one well-described distinction related to firing characteristics and synaptic release properties are tonic and phasic neuronal subtypes. In vertebrates, these classes were defined based on sustained firing responses during stimulation (tonic) vs. transient responses that rapidly adapt (phasic). In crustaceans, the distinction expanded to include synaptic release properties, with tonic motoneurons displaying sustained firing and weaker synapses that undergo short-term facilitation to maintain muscle contraction and posture. In contrast, phasic motoneurons with stronger synapses showed rapid depression and were recruited for short bursts during fast locomotion. Tonic and phasic motoneurons with similarities to those in crustaceans have been characterized in Drosophila, allowing the genetic toolkit associated with this model to be used for dissecting the unique properties and plasticity mechanisms for these neuronal subtypes. This review outlines general properties of invertebrate tonic and phasic motoneurons and highlights recent advances that characterize distinct synaptic and plasticity pathways associated with two closely related glutamatergic neuronal cell types that drive invertebrate locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole A. Aponte-Santiago
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - J. Troy Littleton
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
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Hemipteran defensive odors trigger predictable color biases in jumping spider predators. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21898. [PMID: 33318578 PMCID: PMC7736339 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78952-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Multimodal warning displays often pair one signal modality (odor) with a second modality (color) to avoid predation. Experiments with bird predators suggest these signal components interact synergistically, with aversive odors triggering otherwise hidden aversions to particular prey colors. In a recent study, this phenomenon was found in a jumping spider (Habronattus trimaculatus), with the defensive odor from a coreid bug (Acanthocephala femorata) triggering an aversion to red. Here, we explore how generalizable this phenomenon is by giving H. trimaculatus the choice between red or black prey in the presence or absence of defensive odors secreted from (1) eastern leaf-footed bugs (Leptoglossus phyllopus, Hemiptera), (2) grass stinkbugs (Mormidea pama, Hemiptera), (3) Asian ladybird beetles (Harmonia axyridis, Coleoptera), and (4) eastern lubber grasshoppers (Romalea microptera, Orthoptera). As expected, in the presence of the hemipteran odors, spiders were less likely to attack red prey (compared to no odor). Unexpectedly, the beetle and grasshopper odors did not bias spiders away from red. Our results with the hemipteran odors were unique to red; follow-up experiments indicated that these odors did not affect biases for/against green prey. We discuss our findings in the context of generalized predator foraging behavior and the functions of multimodal warning displays.
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Budaev S, Kristiansen TS, Giske J, Eliassen S. Computational animal welfare: towards cognitive architecture models of animal sentience, emotion and wellbeing. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:201886. [PMID: 33489298 PMCID: PMC7813262 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
To understand animal wellbeing, we need to consider subjective phenomena and sentience. This is challenging, since these properties are private and cannot be observed directly. Certain motivations, emotions and related internal states can be inferred in animals through experiments that involve choice, learning, generalization and decision-making. Yet, even though there is significant progress in elucidating the neurobiology of human consciousness, animal consciousness is still a mystery. We propose that computational animal welfare science emerges at the intersection of animal behaviour, welfare and computational cognition. By using ideas from cognitive science, we develop a functional and generic definition of subjective phenomena as any process or state of the organism that exists from the first-person perspective and cannot be isolated from the animal subject. We then outline a general cognitive architecture to model simple forms of subjective processes and sentience. This includes evolutionary adaptation which contains top-down attention modulation, predictive processing and subjective simulation by re-entrant (recursive) computations. Thereafter, we show how this approach uses major characteristics of the subjective experience: elementary self-awareness, global workspace and qualia with unity and continuity. This provides a formal framework for process-based modelling of animal needs, subjective states, sentience and wellbeing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey Budaev
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Tore S. Kristiansen
- Research Group Animal Welfare, Institute of Marine Research, PO Box 1870, 5817 Bergen, Norway
| | - Jarl Giske
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Sigrunn Eliassen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
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36
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Eriksson M, Janz N, Nylin S, Carlsson MA. Structural plasticity of olfactory neuropils in relation to insect diapause. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:14423-14434. [PMID: 33391725 PMCID: PMC7771155 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Many insects that live in temperate zones spend the cold season in a state of dormancy, referred to as diapause. As the insect must rely on resources that were gathered before entering diapause, keeping a low metabolic rate is of utmost importance. Organs that are metabolically expensive to maintain, such as the brain, can therefore become a liability to survival if they are too large.Insects that go through diapause as adults generally do so before entering the season of reproduction. This order of events introduces a conflict between maintaining low metabolism during dormancy and emerging afterward with highly developed sensory systems that improve fitness during the mating season.We investigated the timing of when investments into the olfactory system are made by measuring the volumes of primary and secondary olfactory neuropils in the brain as they fluctuate in size throughout the extended diapause life-period of adult Polygonia c-album butterflies.Relative volumes of both olfactory neuropils increase significantly during early adult development, indicating the importance of olfaction to this species, but still remain considerably smaller than those of nondiapausing conspecifics. However, despite butterflies being kept under the same conditions as before the dormancy, their olfactory neuropil volumes decreased significantly during the postdormancy period.The opposing directions of change in relative neuropil volumes before and after diapause dormancy indicate that the investment strategies governing structural plasticity during the two life stages could be functionally distinct. As butterflies were kept in stimulus-poor conditions, we find it likely that investments into these brain regions rely on experience-expectant processes before diapause and experience-dependent processes after diapause conditions are broken.As the shift in investment strategies coincides with a hard shift from premating season to mating season, we argue that these developmental characteristics could be adaptations that mitigate the trade-off between dormancy survival and reproductive fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Niklas Janz
- Department of ZoologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - Sören Nylin
- Department of ZoologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
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Durrieu M, Wystrach A, Arrufat P, Giurfa M, Isabel G. Fruit flies can learn non-elemental olfactory discriminations. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201234. [PMID: 33171086 PMCID: PMC7735272 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Associative learning allows animals to establish links between stimuli based on their concomitance. In the case of Pavlovian conditioning, a single stimulus A (the conditional stimulus, CS) is reinforced unambiguously with an unconditional stimulus (US) eliciting an innate response. This conditioning constitutes an 'elemental' association to elicit a learnt response from A+ without US presentation after learning. However, associative learning may involve a 'complex' CS composed of several components. In that case, the compound may predict a different outcome than the components taken separately, leading to ambiguity and requiring the animal to perform so-called non-elemental discrimination. Here, we focus on such a non-elemental task, the negative patterning (NP) problem, and provide the first evidence of NP solving in Drosophila. We show that Drosophila learn to discriminate a simple component (A or B) associated with electric shocks (+) from an odour mixture composed either partly (called 'feature-negative discrimination' A+ versus AB-) or entirely (called 'NP' A+B+ versus AB-) of the shock-associated components. Furthermore, we show that conditioning repetition results in a transition from an elemental to a configural representation of the mixture required to solve the NP task, highlighting the cognitive flexibility of Drosophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Durrieu
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Antoine Wystrach
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Patrick Arrufat
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
- College of Animal Science (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Isabel
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
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38
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Pfeffer S, Wolf H. Arthropod spatial cognition. Anim Cogn 2020; 23:1041-1049. [PMID: 33170438 PMCID: PMC7700064 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01446-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The feats of arthropods, and of the well-studied insects and crustaceans in particular, have fascinated scientists and laymen alike for centuries. Arthropods show a diverse repertoire of cognitive feats, of often unexpected sophistication. Despite their smaller brains and resulting lower neuronal capacity, the cognitive abilities of arthropods are comparable to, or may even exceed, those of vertebrates, depending on the species compared. Miniature brains often provide parsimonious but smart solutions for complex behaviours or ecologically relevant problems. This makes arthropods inspiring subjects for basic research, bionics, and robotics. Investigations of arthropod spatial cognition have originally concentrated on the honeybee, an animal domesticated for several thousand years. Bees are easy to keep and handle, making this species amenable to experimental study. However, there are an estimated 5–10 million arthropod species worldwide, with a broad diversity of lifestyles, ecology, and cognitive abilities. This high diversity provides ample opportunity for comparative analyses. Comparative study, rather than focusing on single model species, is well suited to scrutinise the link between ecological niche, lifestyle, and cognitive competence. It also allows the discovery of general concepts that are transferable between distantly related groups of organisms. With species diversity and a comparative approach in mind, this special issue compiles four review articles and ten original research reports from a spectrum of arthropod species. These contributions range from the well-studied hymenopterans, and ants in particular, to chelicerates and crustaceans. They thus present a broad spectrum of glimpses into current research on arthropod spatial cognition, and together they cogently emphasise the merits of research into arthropod cognitive achievements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Pfeffer
- Institute of Neurobiology, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Harald Wolf
- Institute of Neurobiology, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany
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39
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Chromatic, achromatic and bimodal negative patterning discrimination by free-flying bumble bees. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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40
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Cross FR, Carvell GE, Jackson RR, Grace RC. Arthropod Intelligence? The Case for Portia. Front Psychol 2020; 11:568049. [PMID: 33154726 PMCID: PMC7591756 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.568049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Macphail’s “null hypothesis,” that there are no differences in intelligence, qualitative, or quantitative, between non-human vertebrates has been controversial. This controversy can be useful if it encourages interest in acquiring a detailed understanding of how non-human animals express flexible problem-solving capacity (“intelligence”), but limiting the discussion to vertebrates is too arbitrary. As an example, we focus here on Portia, a spider with an especially intricate predatory strategy and a preference for other spiders as prey. We review research on pre-planned detours, expectancy violation, and a capacity to solve confinement problems where, in each of these three contexts, there is experimental evidence of innate cognitive capacities and reliance on internal representation. These cognitive capacities are related to, but not identical to, intelligence. When discussing intelligence, as when discussing cognition, it is more useful to envisage a continuum instead of something that is simply present or not; in other words, a continuum pertaining to flexible problem-solving capacity for “intelligence” and a continuum pertaining to reliance on internal representation for “cognition.” When envisaging a continuum pertaining to intelligence, Daniel Dennett’s notion of four Creatures (Darwinian, Skinnerian, Popperian, and Gregorian) is of interest, with the distinction between Skinnerian and Popperian Creatures being especially relevant when considering Portia. When we consider these distinctions, a case can be made for Portia being a Popperian Creature. Like Skinnerian Creatures, Popperian Creatures express flexible problem solving capacity, but the manner in which this capacity is expressed by Popperian Creatures is more distinctively cognitive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiona R Cross
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.,International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Mbita Point, Kenya
| | - Georgina E Carvell
- School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Robert R Jackson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.,International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Mbita Point, Kenya
| | - Randolph C Grace
- School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
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41
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Irwin LN. Renewed Perspectives on the Deep Roots and Broad Distribution of Animal Consciousness. Front Syst Neurosci 2020; 14:57. [PMID: 32903840 PMCID: PMC7438986 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.00057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The vast majority of neurobiologists have long abandoned the Cartesian view of non-human animals as unconscious automatons-acknowledging instead the high likelihood that mammals and birds have mental experiences akin to subjective consciousness. Several lines of evidence are now extending those limits to all vertebrates and even some invertebrates, though graded in degrees as argued originally by Darwin, correlated with the complexity of the animal's brain. A principal argument for this view is that the function of consciousness is to promote the survival of an animal-especially one actively moving about-in the face of dynamic changes and real-time contingencies. Cognitive ecologists point to the unique features of each animal's environment and the specific behavioral capabilities that different environments invoke, thereby suggesting that consciousness must take on a great variety of forms, many of which differ substantially from human subjective experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis N Irwin
- University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, United States
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42
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MaBouDi H, Marshall JAR, Barron AB. Honeybees solve a multi-comparison ranking task by probability matching. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201525. [PMID: 32873200 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Honeybees forage on diverse flowers which vary in the amount and type of rewards they offer, and bees are challenged with maximizing the resources they gather for their colony. That bees are effective foragers is clear, but how bees solve this type of complex multi-choice task is unknown. Here, we set bees a five-comparison choice task in which five colours differed in their probability of offering reward and punishment. The colours were ranked such that high ranked colours were more likely to offer reward, and the ranking was unambiguous. Bees' choices in unrewarded tests matched their individual experiences of reward and punishment of each colour, indicating bees solved this test not by comparing or ranking colours but by basing their colour choices on their history of reinforcement for each colour. Computational modelling suggests a structure like the honeybee mushroom body with reinforcement-related plasticity at both input and output can be sufficient for this cognitive strategy. We discuss how probability matching enables effective choices to be made without a need to compare any stimuli directly, and the use and limitations of this simple cognitive strategy for foraging animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- HaDi MaBouDi
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | | | - Andrew B Barron
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.,Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, Sydney, Australia
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43
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The Gut-Brain-Microbiome Axis in Bumble Bees. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11080517. [PMID: 32785118 PMCID: PMC7469151 DOI: 10.3390/insects11080517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The brain-gut–microbiome axis is an emerging area of study, particularly in vertebrate systems. Existing evidence suggests that gut microbes can influence basic physiological functions and that perturbations to the gut microbiome can have deleterious effects on cognition and lead to neurodevelopmental disorders. While this relationship has been extensively studied in vertebrate systems, little is known about this relationship in insects. We hypothesized that because of its importance in bee health, the gut microbiota influences learning and memory in adult bumble bees. As an initial test of whether there is a brain-gut–microbiome axis in bumble bees, we reared microbe-inoculated and microbe-depleted bees from commercial Bombus impatiens colonies. We then conditioned experimental bees to associate a sucrose reward with a color and tested their ability to learn and remember the rewarding color. We found no difference between microbe-inoculated and microbe-depleted bumble bees in performance during the behavioral assay. While these results suggest that the brain-gut–microbiome axis is not evident in Bombus impatiens, future studies with different invertebrate systems are needed to further investigate this phenomenon.
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Bortot M, Stancher G, Vallortigara G. Transfer from Number to Size Reveals Abstract Coding of Magnitude in Honeybees. iScience 2020; 23:101122. [PMID: 32438324 PMCID: PMC7235639 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Number discrimination has been documented in honeybees. It is not known, however, whether it reflects, as in vertebrates, the operating of an underlying general magnitude system that estimates quantities irrespective of dimensions (e.g., number, space, time) and format (discrete, continuous). We trained bees to discriminate between different numerical comparisons having either a 0.5 (2 versus 4; 4 versus 8) or 0.67 ratio (2 versus 3; 4 versus 6). Bees were then tested for spontaneous choice using comparisons with identical numbers but different sizes. Irrespective of the ratio of stimuli, bees trained to select the smaller numerical quantity chose the congruent smaller size; bees trained to select the larger numerical quantity chose the congruent larger size. This finding provides the evidence for a cross-dimensional transfer between discrete (numerical) and continuous (spatial) dimensions in an invertebrate species and supports the hypothesis of a cognitive universality of a coding for general magnitude. Honeybees exhibit a cross-dimensional transfer from discrete to continuous dimensions Honeybees trained to choose the smaller numerosity, choose the congruent smaller size Honeybees trained to choose the larger numerosity, choose the congruent larger size This supports the hypothesis of a cognitive universality of a coding for magnitudes
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Bortot
- Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
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Multimodal interactions in insect navigation. Anim Cogn 2020; 23:1129-1141. [PMID: 32323027 PMCID: PMC7700066 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01383-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Animals travelling through the world receive input from multiple sensory modalities that could be important for the guidance of their journeys. Given the availability of a rich array of cues, from idiothetic information to input from sky compasses and visual information through to olfactory and other cues (e.g. gustatory, magnetic, anemotactic or thermal) it is no surprise to see multimodality in most aspects of navigation. In this review, we present the current knowledge of multimodal cue use during orientation and navigation in insects. Multimodal cue use is adapted to a species’ sensory ecology and shapes navigation behaviour both during the learning of environmental cues and when performing complex foraging journeys. The simultaneous use of multiple cues is beneficial because it provides redundant navigational information, and in general, multimodality increases robustness, accuracy and overall foraging success. We use examples from sensorimotor behaviours in mosquitoes and flies as well as from large scale navigation in ants, bees and insects that migrate seasonally over large distances, asking at each stage how multiple cues are combined behaviourally and what insects gain from using different modalities.
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Winsor AM, Ihle M, Taylor LA. Methods for independently manipulating palatability and color in small insect prey. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231205. [PMID: 32255810 PMCID: PMC7138310 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how the psychology of predators shapes the defenses of colorful aposematic prey has been a rich area of inquiry, with emphasis on hypothesis-driven experiments that independently manipulate color and palatability in prey to examine predator responses. Most of these studies focus on avian predators, despite calls to consider more taxonomically diverse predators. This taxonomic bias leaves gaps in our knowledge about the generalizability of current theory. Here we have adapted tools that have been successfully used with bird predators and scaled them down and tested them with smaller predators (Habronattus jumping spiders) and small insect prey (termites, milkweed bug nymphs, pinhead crickets, fruit flies). Specifically, we test (1) the application of denatonium benzoate (DB) to the surface of live termites, crickets, and fruit flies, and (2) the effectiveness of manipulating the palatability of milkweed bug nymphs through diet. We also test the effectiveness of combining these palatability manipulations with various color manipulations. Across several experiments, we confirm that our palatability manipulations are not detectable to the spiders before they attack (i.e., they do not produce aversive odors that spiders avoid), and show that unpalatable prey are indeed quickly rejected and spiders do not habituate to the taste with experience. We also investigate limitations of these techniques by assessing possible unintended effects on prey behavior and the risk of contact contamination when using DB-treated prey in experiments. While similar tools have been used to manipulate color and palatability with avian predators and relatively large insect prey, we show how these techniques can be effectively adapted for use with small invertebrate predators and prey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex M. Winsor
- Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
- Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Malika Ihle
- Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
| | - Lisa A. Taylor
- Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
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von der Emde G, de Perera TB. Cross-modal sensory transfer: Bumble bees do it. Science 2020; 367:850-851. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aba8519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Stored sensory input permits two sensory channels to exchange and compare information
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Villar ME, Marchal P, Viola H, Giurfa M. Redefining Single-Trial Memories in the Honeybee. Cell Rep 2020; 30:2603-2613.e3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.01.086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 11/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
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Mizunami M, Hirohata S, Sato A, Arai R, Terao K, Sato M, Matsumoto Y. Development of behavioural automaticity by extended Pavlovian training in an insect. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 286:20182132. [PMID: 30963861 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of repetitive training on learned actions has been a major subject in behavioural neuroscience. Many studies of instrumental conditioning in mammals, including humans, suggested that learned actions early in training are goal-driven and controlled by outcome expectancy, but they become more automatic and insensitive to reduction in the value of the outcome after extended training. It was unknown, however, whether the development of value-insensitive behaviour also occurs by extended training of Pavlovian conditioning in any animals. Here we show that crickets Gryllus bimaculatus that had received minimal training to associate an odour with water (unconditioned stimulus, US) did not exhibit conditioned response (CR) to the odour when they were given water until satiation before the test, but those that had received extended training exhibited CR even when they were satiated with water. Further pharmacological experiments suggested that octopamine neurons, the invertebrate counterparts of noradrenaline neurons, mediate US value signals and control execution of CR after minimal training, but the control diminishes with the progress of training and hence the CR becomes insensitive to US devaluation. The results suggest that repetitive sensory experiences can lead to a change from a goal-driven response to a more automatic one in crickets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Makoto Mizunami
- 1 Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University , Sapporo 060-0810 , Japan
| | - Sho Hirohata
- 2 Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University , Sapporo 060-0810 , Japan
| | - Ai Sato
- 4 Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University , Sendai 980-8577 , Japan
| | - Ryoichi Arai
- 3 Department of Biological Sciences, Hokkaido University , Sapporo 060-0810 , Japan
| | - Kanta Terao
- 2 Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University , Sapporo 060-0810 , Japan
| | - Misato Sato
- 2 Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University , Sapporo 060-0810 , Japan
| | - Yukihisa Matsumoto
- 1 Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University , Sapporo 060-0810 , Japan.,5 College of Liberal Arts and Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University , Ichikawa 272-0827 , Japan
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Groh C, Rössler W. Analysis of Synaptic Microcircuits in the Mushroom Bodies of the Honeybee. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11010043. [PMID: 31936165 PMCID: PMC7023465 DOI: 10.3390/insects11010043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Mushroom bodies (MBs) are multisensory integration centers in the insect brain involved in learning and memory formation. In the honeybee, the main sensory input region (calyx) of MBs is comparatively large and receives input from mainly olfactory and visual senses, but also from gustatory/tactile modalities. Behavioral plasticity following differential brood care, changes in sensory exposure or the formation of associative long-term memory (LTM) was shown to be associated with structural plasticity in synaptic microcircuits (microglomeruli) within olfactory and visual compartments of the MB calyx. In the same line, physiological studies have demonstrated that MB-calyx microcircuits change response properties after associative learning. The aim of this review is to provide an update and synthesis of recent research on the plasticity of microcircuits in the MB calyx of the honeybee, specifically looking at the synaptic connectivity between sensory projection neurons (PNs) and MB intrinsic neurons (Kenyon cells). We focus on the honeybee as a favorable experimental insect for studying neuronal mechanisms underlying complex social behavior, but also compare it with other insect species for certain aspects. This review concludes by highlighting open questions and promising routes for future research aimed at understanding the causal relationships between neuronal and behavioral plasticity in this charismatic social insect.
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