scholarly journals The Neuroproteomic Basis of Enhanced Perception and Processing of Brood Signals That Trigger Increased Reproductive Investment in Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 1632-1648
Author(s):  
Xufeng Zhang ◽  
Han Hu ◽  
Bin Han ◽  
Qiaohong Wei ◽  
Lifeng Meng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Royal Jelly ◽  
Reproductive Investment ◽  
Alloparental Care ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
Nutrient Metabolism ◽  
Olfactory Conditioning ◽  
Proboscis Extension ◽  
Complex Social Behavior ◽  
Care Behavior

The neuronal basis of complex social behavior is still poorly understood. In honeybees, reproductive investment decisions are made at the colony-level. Queens develop from female-destined larvae that receive alloparental care from nurse bees in the form of ad-libitum royal jelly (RJ) secretions. Typically, the number of raised new queens is limited but genetic breeding of “royal jelly bees” (RJBs) for enhanced RJ production over decades has led to a dramatic increase of reproductive investment in queens. Here, we compare RJBs to unselected Italian bees (ITBs) to investigate how their cognitive processing of larval signals in the mushroom bodies (MBs) and antennal lobes (ALs) may contribute to their behavioral differences. A cross-fostering experiment confirms that the RJB syndrome is mainly due to a shift in nurse bee alloparental care behavior. Using olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex, we show that the RJB nurses spontaneously respond more often to larval odors compared with ITB nurses but their subsequent learning occurs at similar rates. These phenotypic findings are corroborated by our demonstration that the proteome of the brain, particularly of the ALs differs between RJBs and ITBs. Notably, in the ALs of RJB newly emerged bees and nurses compared with ITBs, processes of energy and nutrient metabolism, signal transduction are up-regulated, priming the ALs for receiving and processing the brood signals from the antennae. Moreover, highly abundant major royal jelly proteins and hexamerins in RJBs compared with ITBs during early life when the nervous system still develops suggest crucial new neurobiological roles for these well-characterized proteins. Altogether, our findings reveal that RJBs have evolved a strong olfactory response to larvae, enabled by numerous neurophysiological adaptations that increase the nurse bees' alloparental care behavior.

scholarly journals Honey bees can store and retrieve independent memory traces after complex experiences that combine appetitive and aversive associations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Klappenbach ◽  
Agustin E Lara ◽  
Fernando F Locatelli
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bees ◽  
Differential Conditioning ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Aversive Conditioning ◽  
Appetitive Conditioning ◽  
Olfactory Conditioning ◽  
Proboscis Extension Response ◽  
Conditioning Paradigm ◽  
Aversive Events ◽  
Proboscis Extension

Real-world experiences do often mix appetitive and aversive events. Understanding the ability of animals to extract, store and use this information is an important issue in neurobiology. We used honey bees as model to study learning and memory after a differential conditioning that combines appetitive and aversive training trials. First of all, we describe an aversive conditioning paradigm that constitutes a clear opposite of the well known appetitive olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension response. A neutral odour is presented paired with the bitter substance quinine. Aversive memory is evidenced later as an odour-specific impairment in appetitive conditioning. Then we tested the effect of mixing appetitive and aversive conditioning trials distributed along the same training session. Differential conditioning protocols like this were used before to study the ability to discriminate odours, however they were not focused on whether appetitive and aversive memories are formed. We found that after a differential conditioning, honey bees establish independent appetitive and aversive memories that do not interfere with each other during acquisition or storage. Finally, we moved the question forward to retrieval and memory expression to evaluate what happens when appetitive and the aversive learned odours are mixed during test. Interestingly, opposite memories compete in a way that they do not cancel each other out. Honey bees showed the ability to switch from expressing appetitive to aversive memory depending on their satiation level.

Behavioural analysis of olfactory conditioning in the moth spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidoptera: noctuidae)

1997 ◽  
Vol 200 (23) ◽  
pp. 2969-2976 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Fan ◽  
P Anderson ◽  
B Hansson
Keyword(s):  
Spodoptera Littoralis ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Olfactory Conditioning ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Us ◽  
Learning Capabilities ◽  
Control Procedures ◽  
Proboscis Extension ◽  
Lepidoptera Noctuidae

We studied the associative learning capabilities for behaviourally relevant cues in the moth Spodoptera littoralis. The moths were trained to associate a conditioned stimulus (CS), geraniol odour, with an unconditioned stimulus (US), a sucrose solution. The occurrence of a proboscis extension reflex (PER) was tested. The PER performance during acquisition increased steadily with the number of training trials. Non-associative control procedures did not result in learning. PER conditioning was achieved when the CS was presented 1-3 s before the US. A wide range of inter-trial intervals was able to support conditioning. Males and females learned equally well. Moths could to some degree learn the CS-US association after a single trial. These results demonstrate that S. littoralis females and males have a good capability to associate an odour with a reward. The neural basis of olfactory coding in moths has been well studied; thus, the moth provides a powerful system in which to examine the neurobiology of olfactory learning.

Behavioral differences in three Wistar Han rat lines for emotional reactivity, cognitive processing and ethanol intake

2013 ◽  
Vol 110-111 ◽  
pp. 102-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja A. Goepfrich ◽  
Christian Gluch ◽  
Chris M. Friemel ◽  
Miriam Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Ethanol Intake ◽  
Behavioral Differences

scholarly journals Configural Olfactory Learning in Honeybees: Negative and Positive Patterning Discrimination

2001 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-78
Author(s):  
Nina Deisig ◽  
Harald Lachnit ◽  
Martin Giurfa ◽  
Frank Hellstern
Keyword(s):  
Antennal Lobe ◽  
Discrimination Problem ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Olfactory Conditioning ◽  
Proboscis Extension Response ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Odor Mixtures ◽  
Proboscis Extension ◽  
Elemental Associations ◽  
Positive Patterning

In an appetitive context, honeybees (Apis mellifera) learn to associate odors with a reward of sucrose solution. If an odor is presented immediately before the sucrose, an elemental association is formed that enables the odor to release the proboscis extension response (PER). Olfactory conditioning of PER was used to study whether, beyond elemental associations, honeybees are able to process configural associations. Bees were trained in a positive and anegative patterning discrimination problem. In the first problem, single odorants were nonreinforced whereas the compound was reinforced. In the second problem, single odorants were reinforced whereas the compound was nonreinforced. We studied whether bees can solve these problems and whether the ratio between the number of presentations of the reinforced stimuli and the number of presentations of the nonreinforced stimuli affects discrimination. Honeybees differentiated reinforced and nonreinforced stimuli in positive and negative patterning discriminations. They thus can process configural associations. The variation of the ratio of reinforced to nonreinforced stimuli modulated the amount of differentiation. The assignment of singular codes to complex odor blends could be implemented at the neural level: When bees are stimulated with odor mixtures, the activation patterns evoked at the primary olfactory neuropile, the antennal lobe, may be combinations of the single odorant responses that are not necessarily fully additive.

Olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension in bumble bees

1999 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Laloi ◽  
J.C. Sandoz ◽  
A.L. Picard-Nizou ◽  
A. Marchesi ◽  
A. Pouvreau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Olfactory Conditioning ◽  
Proboscis Extension

scholarly journals Computational analysis of GAL pathway pinpoints mechanisms underlying natural variation

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. e1008691
Author(s):  
Jiayin Hong ◽  
Julius Palme ◽  
Bo Hua ◽  
Michael Springer
Keyword(s):  
In Silico ◽  
Quantitative Traits ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
Nutrient Metabolism ◽  
Tuning Parameters ◽  
Yeast Strains ◽  
Pathway Activation ◽  
Natural Variants ◽  
Different Strains

Quantitative traits are measurable phenotypes that show continuous variation over a wide phenotypic range. Enormous effort has recently been put into determining the genetic influences on a variety of quantitative traits with mixed success. We identified a quantitative trait in a tractable model system, the GAL pathway in yeast, which controls the uptake and metabolism of the sugar galactose. GAL pathway activation depends both on galactose concentration and on the concentrations of competing, preferred sugars such as glucose. Natural yeast isolates show substantial variation in the behavior of the pathway. All studied yeast strains exhibit bimodal responses relative to external galactose concentration, i.e. a set of galactose concentrations existed at which both GAL-induced and GAL-repressed subpopulations were observed. However, these concentrations differed in different strains. We built a mechanistic model of the GAL pathway and identified parameters that are plausible candidates for capturing the phenotypic features of a set of strains including standard lab strains, natural variants, and mutants. In silico perturbation of these parameters identified variation in the intracellular galactose sensor, Gal3p, the negative feedback node within the GAL regulatory network, Gal80p, and the hexose transporters, HXT, as the main sources of the bimodal range variation. We were able to switch the phenotype of individual yeast strains in silico by tuning parameters related to these three elements. Determining the basis for these behavioral differences may give insight into how the GAL pathway processes information, and into the evolution of nutrient metabolism preferences in different strains. More generally, our method of identifying the key parameters that explain phenotypic variation in this system should be generally applicable to other quantitative traits.

scholarly journals Discovering the Brain Stages of Lexical Decision: Behavioral Effects Originate from a Single Neural Decision Process

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermine S. Berberyan ◽  
Hedderik van Rijn ◽  
Jelmer P Borst
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
Lexical Information ◽  
Multivariate Pattern ◽  
Study Participants

Lexical decision (LD) – judging whether a sequence of letters constitutes a word – has been widely investigated. In a typical lexical decision task (LDT), participants are asked to respond whether a sequence of letters is an actual word or a nonword. Although behavioral differences between types of words/nonwords have been robustly detected in LDT, there is an ongoing discussion about the exact cognitive processes that underlie the word identification process in this task. To obtain data-driven evidence on the underlying processes, we recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) data and applied a novel machine-learning method, hidden semi-Markov model multivariate pattern analysis (HsMM-MVPA). In the current study, participants performed an LDT in which we varied the frequency of words (high, low frequency) and “wordlikeness” of non-words (pseudowords, random non-words). The results revealed that models with six processing stages accounted best for the data in all conditions. While most stages were shared, Stage 5 differed between conditions. Together, these results indicate that the differences in word frequency and lexicality effects are driven by a single cognitive processing stage. Based on its latency and topology, we interpret this stage as a Decision process during which participants discriminate between words and nonwords using activated lexical information.

Odorant intensity as a determinant for olfactory conditioning in honeybees: roles in discrimination, overshadowing and memory consolidation.

1997 ◽  
Vol 200 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-847 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Pelz ◽  
B Gerber ◽  
R Menzel
Keyword(s):  
Classical Conditioning ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Proboscis Extension Reflex ◽  
Olfactory Conditioning ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Physiological Analysis ◽  
Proboscis Extension ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Feature Positive

Stimulus intensity is an important determinant for perception, learning and behaviour. We studied the effects of odorant concentration on classical conditioning involving odorants and odorant-mechanosensory compounds using the proboscis-extension reflex in the honeybee. Our results show that high concentrations of odorant (a) support better discrimination in a feature-positive task using rewarded odorant-mechanosensory compounds versus unrewarded mechanosensory stimuli, (b) have a stronger capacity to overshadow learning of a simultaneously trained mechanosensory stimulus, and (c) induce better memory consolidation. Furthermore, honeybees were trained discriminatively to two different concentrations of one odorant. Honeybees are not able to solve this task when presented with rewarded low versus unrewarded high concentrations. Taken together, our results suggest that high concentrations of odorant support stronger associations (are more 'salient') than low concentrations. Our results, however, do not indicate that honeybees can treat two different concentrations of one odorant as qualitatively different stimuli. These findings fill a gap in what is known about honeybee olfactory learning and are a first step in relating behaviour to recent advances in the physiological analysis of coding for odorant concentration in honeybees.

The S-SH Confusion Test and the Effects of Frequency Lowering

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1486-1505
Author(s):  
Joshua M. Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Nonlinear Frequency ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Frequency Compression ◽  
Negative Side ◽  
Minimal Word ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Negative Side Effects

PurposeFrequency lowering in hearing aids can cause listeners to perceive [s] as [ʃ]. The S-SH Confusion Test, which consists of 66 minimal word pairs spoken by 6 female talkers, was designed to help clinicians and researchers document these negative side effects. This study's purpose was to use this new test to evaluate the hypothesis that these confusions will increase to the extent that low frequencies are altered.MethodTwenty-one listeners with normal hearing were each tested on 7 conditions. Three were control conditions that were low-pass filtered at 3.3, 5.0, and 9.1 kHz. Four conditions were processed with nonlinear frequency compression (NFC): 2 had a 3.3-kHz maximum audible output frequency (MAOF), with a start frequency (SF) of 1.6 or 2.2 kHz; 2 had a 5.0-kHz MAOF, with an SF of 1.6 or 4.0 kHz. Listeners' responses were analyzed using concepts from signal detection theory. Response times were also collected as a measure of cognitive processing.ResultsOverall, [s] for [ʃ] confusions were minimal. As predicted, [ʃ] for [s] confusions increased for NFC conditions with a lower versus higher MAOF and with a lower versus higher SF. Response times for trials with correct [s] responses were shortest for the 9.1-kHz control and increased for the 5.0- and 3.3-kHz controls. NFC response times were also significantly longer as MAOF and SF decreased. The NFC condition with the highest MAOF and SF had statistically shorter response times than its control condition, indicating that, under some circumstances, NFC may ease cognitive processing.ConclusionsLarge differences in the S-SH Confusion Test across frequency-lowering conditions show that it can be used to document a major negative side effect associated with frequency lowering. Smaller but significant differences in response times for correct [s] trials indicate that NFC can help or hinder cognitive processing, depending on its settings.

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