Central gustatory projections and side-specificity of operant antennal muscle conditioning in the honeybee |
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Authors: | S Shuichi Haupt |
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Institution: | 1.Neurobiologie, Institut für ?kologie,Berlin,Germany;2.Molecular Neuroscience Unit, OIST-PC IRP, OITC,Okinawa,Japan |
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Abstract: | Gustatory stimuli to the antennae, especially sucrose, are important for bees and are employed in learning paradigms as unconditioned
stimulus. The present study identified primary antennal gustatory projections in the bee brain and determined the impact of
stimulation of the antennal tip on antennal muscle activity and its plasticity. Central projections of antennal taste hairs
contained axons of two morphologies projecting into the dorsal lobe, which is also the antennal motor centre. Putative mechanosensory
axons arborised in a dorso-lateral area. Putative gustatory axons projected to a ventro-medial area. Bees scan gustatory and
mechanical stimuli with their antennae using variable strategies but sensory input to the motor system has not been investigated
in detail. Mechanical, gustatory, and electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral antennal tip were found to evoke short-latency
responses in an antennal muscle, the fast flagellum flexor. Contralateral gustatory stimulation induced smaller responses
with longer latency. The activity of the fast flagellum flexor was conditioned operantly by pairing high muscle activity with
ipsilateral antennal sucrose stimulation. A proboscis reward was unnecessary for learning. With contralateral antennal sucrose
stimulation, conditioning was unsuccessful. Thus, muscle activity induced by gustatory stimulation was important for learning
success and conditioning was side-specific. |
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Keywords: | Operant conditioning Taste hairs Antenna Unconditioned stimulus Motoneuron |
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