“Accordingly, memory involves a presentation: hence we may conclude that it belongs to the faculty of intelligence only incidentally, while directly and essentially it belongs to the primary faculty of sense-perception. Hence, not only human beings and the beings which possess opinion or intelligence, but also certain other animals possess memory. (...) The process of sensory stimulation involved in the act of perception stamps in as an impression of the percept, just as persons do who make an impression with a seal.”
Aristotele, De memoria et reminiscentia
“When putting into memory, remember where you put it.”
Leo Beiser’s First Computer Axiom
The honeybee olfactory system
With less than a million neurons, the western honeybee Apis mellifera is capable of complex olfactory behaviors, and provides an ideal model for investigating the neurophysiology of the olfactory circuit and the basis of olfactory perception and learning. Here, we review the most fundamental aspects of honeybee’s olfaction: first, we discuss which odorants dominate its environment, and how bees use odors to communicate and regulate colony homeostasis; then, we describe the neuroanatomy and the neurophysiology of the olfactory circuit; finally, we explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms leading to olfactory memory formation. The vastity of histological, neurophysiological and behavioral data collected during the last century, together with the new technological and genetical advancements, confirms the honeybee as an attractive research model for odor coding and olfactory learning. Also, the ecological relevance of this domestic insect calls for a better understanding of its neurobiology to safeguard the bees themselves and the environment as a whole.
Paoli M, Galizia GC. Olfactory coding in honeybees. Cell Tissue Res. 2021 Jan;383(1):35-58. doi: 10.1007/s00441-020-03385-5.
Associative conditioning: the proboscis extension reflex
Upon olfactory stimulation of the antennae..bees extend their proboscis...
When an olfactory stimulus is paired with a sucrose reward, it induces associative memory.
Although difficult to automatise, it presents a very reliable read out for associative memory formation.
With the aim to capitalise on this behavioral read out and to be able to induce olfactory memory in restrained bees, I have tested the capability of olfactory learning upon the sole touching of the antennae with a sucrose coated toothpick - that is, without providing the food reward per se.
This works, showing a similar learning curve and specific memory formation as compared to the.........
When an olfactory stimulus is paired with a sucrose reward, it induces associative memory.
Although difficult to automatise, it presents a very reliable read out for associative memory formation.
With the aim to capitalise on this behavioral read out and to be able to induce olfactory memory in restrained bees, I have tested the capability of olfactory learning upon the sole touching of the antennae with a sucrose coated toothpick - that is, without providing the food reward per se.
This works, showing a similar learning curve and specific memory formation as compared to the.........
Calcium imaging analysis
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