Dopamine-like immunoreactivity in the bee brain

Summary The distribution of dopamine-like immunoreactive neurons is described for the brain of the bee, Apis mellifera L., following the application of a pre-embedding technique on Vibratome sections. Immunoreactive somata are grouped into seven clusters, mainly situated in the protocerebrum. Immunoreactive interneurons have been detected in the different neuropilar compartments, except for the optic lobe neuropils. Strong immunoreactivity is found in the upper division of the central body, in parts of the stalk and in the -lobe layers of the mushroom bodies. A dense network of many immunoreactive fibres surrounds the mushroom bodies and the central body. It forms a number of interhemispheric commissures/chiasmata, projecting partly into the contralateral mushroom body and central body. The lateral protocerebral neuropil contains some large wide-field-neurons. The antennal-lobe glomeruli receive fine projections of multiglomerular dopamine-like immunoreactive interneurons.