1
|
Pírez N, Klappenbach M, Locatelli FF. Experience-dependent tuning of the olfactory system. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 60:101117. [PMID: 37741614 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Insects rely on their sense of smell to navigate complex environments and make decisions regarding food and reproduction. However, in natural settings, the odors that convey this information may come mixed with environmental odors that can obscure their perception. Therefore, recognizing the presence of informative odors involves generalization and discrimination processes, which can be facilitated when there is a high contrast between stimuli, or the internal representation of the odors of interest outcompetes that of concurrent ones. The first two layers of the olfactory system, which involve the detection of odorants by olfactory receptor neurons and their encoding by the first postsynaptic partners in the antennal lobe, are critical for achieving such optimal representation. In this review, we summarize evidence indicating that experience-dependent changes adjust these two levels of the olfactory system. These changes are discussed in the context of the advantages they provide for detection of informative odors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicolás Pírez
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias, CONICET, C1428EHA Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Martín Klappenbach
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias, CONICET, C1428EHA Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Fernando F Locatelli
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias, CONICET, C1428EHA Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
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.
Collapse
|
4
|
K Namboodiri VM, Stuber GD. The learning of prospective and retrospective cognitive maps within neural circuits. Neuron 2021; 109:3552-3575. [PMID: 34678148 PMCID: PMC8809184 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.09.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Brain circuits are thought to form a "cognitive map" to process and store statistical relationships in the environment. A cognitive map is commonly defined as a mental representation that describes environmental states (i.e., variables or events) and the relationship between these states. This process is commonly conceptualized as a prospective process, as it is based on the relationships between states in chronological order (e.g., does reward follow a given state?). In this perspective, we expand this concept on the basis of recent findings to postulate that in addition to a prospective map, the brain forms and uses a retrospective cognitive map (e.g., does a given state precede reward?). In doing so, we demonstrate that many neural signals and behaviors (e.g., habits) that seem inflexible and non-cognitive can result from retrospective cognitive maps. Together, we present a significant conceptual reframing of the neurobiological study of associative learning, memory, and decision making.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vijay Mohan K Namboodiri
- Department of Neurology, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Garret D Stuber
- Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Siddiqui R, Muhammad JS, Khan NA. Locust as an in Vivo Model. ACS Chem Neurosci 2021; 12:1469-1471. [PMID: 33877824 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.1c00190] [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: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The combination of newly available genome sequence information on locusts together with high throughput genomics capabilities, novel approaches for genetic traceability, and their large size for easier handling makes locusts a valuable in vivo tool to study brain formation, functional adaptations, and neuropathogenesis during embryonic development in various environmental niches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui
- College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Naveed Ahmed Khan
- College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Elwood RW. Potential Pain in Fish and Decapods: Similar Experimental Approaches and Similar Results. Front Vet Sci 2021; 8:631151. [PMID: 33959648 PMCID: PMC8093373 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.631151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
I review studies that examined the possibility of pain experience in fish and note how they provided guidance on general methods that could be applied to other animals such as decapod crustaceans. The fish studies initially reported the occurrence of prolonged rocking movements in trout and rubbing of their lips if they were injected with acetic acid. Subsequent studies examined the role of morphine in reducing these activities and examined shifts in attention when responding to noxious stimuli. Various studies take up these themes in decapods. The results reported for the two taxonomic groups are remarkably similar and indicate that responses of both go beyond those expected of mere nociceptive reflex. Thus, the idea of pain cannot be dismissed by the argument that fish and decapods respond only by reflex. The responses of both clearly involve central processing, and pain experience, although not proven for either, is a distinct possibility. These studies have been the subjects of highly critical opinion pieces and these are examined and rebutted. The conclusion is that both fish and decapods should be awarded consideration for their welfare.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert W Elwood
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
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]
|
9
|
Grabowska MJ, Jeans R, Steeves J, van Swinderen B. Oscillations in the central brain of Drosophila are phase locked to attended visual features. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:29925-29936. [PMID: 33177231 PMCID: PMC7703559 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2010749117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Object-based attention describes the brain's capacity to prioritize one set of stimuli while ignoring others. Human research suggests that the binding of diverse stimuli into one attended percept requires phase-locked oscillatory activity in the brain. Even insects display oscillatory brain activity during visual attention tasks, but it is unclear if neural oscillations in insects are selectively correlated to different features of attended objects. We addressed this question by recording local field potentials in the Drosophila central complex, a brain structure involved in visual navigation and decision making. We found that attention selectively increased the neural gain of visual features associated with attended objects and that attention could be redirected to unattended objects by activation of a reward circuit. Attention was associated with increased beta (20- to 30-Hz) oscillations that selectively locked onto temporal features of the attended visual objects. Our results suggest a conserved function for the beta frequency range in regulating selective attention to salient visual features.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martyna J Grabowska
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Rhiannon Jeans
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - James Steeves
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Bruno van Swinderen
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| |
Collapse
|