scholarly journals Combined secondary compounds naturally found in nectars enhance honeybee cognition and survival

2021 ◽  
Vol 224 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio L. Marchi ◽  
Florencia Palottini ◽  
Walter M. Farina
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Secondary Compounds ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Memory Retention ◽  
Olfactory Conditioning ◽  
Significant Survival ◽  
Short And Long Term

ABSTRACT The alkaloid caffeine and the amino acid arginine are present as secondary compounds in nectars of some flower species visited by pollinators. Each of these compounds affects honeybee appetitive behaviours by improving foraging activity and learning. While caffeine potentiates responses of mushroom body neurons involved in honeybee learning processes, arginine acts as precursor of nitric oxide, enhancing the protein synthesis involved in memory formation. Despite existing evidence on how these compounds affect honeybee cognitive ability individually, their combined effect on this is still unknown. We evaluated acquisition and memory retention in a classical olfactory conditioning procedure, in which the reward (sucrose solution) contained traces of caffeine, arginine or a mixture of the two. The results indicate that the presence of the single compounds and their most concentrated mixture increases bees' learning performance. However, memory retention, measured in the short and long term, increases significantly only in those treatments offering combinations of the two compounds in the reward. Additionally, the most concentrated mixture triggers a significant survival rate in the conditioned bees. Thus, some nectar compounds, when combined, show synergistic effects on cognitive ability and survival in an insect.

scholarly journals Poor adult nutrition impairs learning and memory in a parasitoid wasp

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Kishani Farahani ◽  
Yasaman Moghadassi ◽  
Jean-Sebastien Pierre ◽  
Stéphane Kraus ◽  
Mathieu Lihoreau
Keyword(s):  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Parasitoid Wasp ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Memory Retention ◽  
Venturia Canescens ◽  
Sucrose Solutions

AbstractAnimals have evolved cognitive abilities whose impairment can incur dramatic fitness costs. While malnutrition is known to impact brain development and cognitive functions in vertebrates, little is known in insects whose small brain appears particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors. Here, we investigated the influence of diet quality on learning and memory in the parasitoid wasp Venturia canescens. Newly emerged adults were exposed for 24 h to either honey, 20% sucrose solution, 10% sucrose solution, or water, before being conditioned in an olfactory associative learning task in which an odor was associated to a host larvae (reward). Honey fed wasps showed 3.5 times higher learning performances and 1.5 times longer memory retention than wasps fed sucrose solutions or water. Poor diets also reduced longevity and fecundity. Our results demonstrate the importance of early adult nutrition for optimal cognitive function in these parasitoid wasps that must quickly develop long-term olfactory memories for searching suitable hosts for their progeny.

scholarly journals Distinct dopamine neurons mediate reward signals for short- and long-term memories

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 578-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuhiro Yamagata ◽  
Toshiharu Ichinose ◽  
Yoshinori Aso ◽  
Pierre-Yves Plaçais ◽  
Anja B. Friedrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mushroom Body ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Dopamine Neurons ◽  
Single Type ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Memory Retention ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Short And Long Term

Drosophila melanogaster can acquire a stable appetitive olfactory memory when the presentation of a sugar reward and an odor are paired. However, the neuronal mechanisms by which a single training induces long-term memory are poorly understood. Here we show that two distinct subsets of dopamine neurons in the fly brain signal reward for short-term (STM) and long-term memories (LTM). One subset induces memory that decays within several hours, whereas the other induces memory that gradually develops after training. They convey reward signals to spatially segregated synaptic domains of the mushroom body (MB), a potential site for convergence. Furthermore, we identified a single type of dopamine neuron that conveys the reward signal to restricted subdomains of the mushroom body lobes and induces long-term memory. Constant appetitive memory retention after a single training session thus comprises two memory components triggered by distinct dopamine neurons.

scholarly journals Animations Are Dynamic, Effective Tools For Science Teaching: If You Just Follow The Rules!

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Danton H. O'Day
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Memory Retention ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Dynamic Events ◽  
Complementary Resources ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Males And Females

Textbook companies are increasingly including larger numbers of animations as complementary resources for students and teachers. Are all animations useful as teaching tools? The answer is no. Animations can be useful for communicating dynamic events and processes but only when specific rules are followed. The authors review the important components of effective animations and their extensive, original research on the value of animations in learning and long-term memory retention. When the rules are applied, students can learn complex material more easily and retain more of what they have learned in short and long term memory than they can by viewing static textbook figures. Our results also indicate that learning from animations and graphics differs between males and females. Insight gained from student feedback is highlighted with some final comments on future research.

Pain Management for General Surgery

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Stammen ◽  
Harish Siddaiah ◽  
Cody Brechtel ◽  
Elyse M. Cornett ◽  
Charles J. Fox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pain Management ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Treatment Modalities ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Pain Pathways ◽  
Peripheral Nerve Blockade ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Long Acting

Pain is multidimensional and subjective, which makes it difficult to treat. Newer treatment modalities have been under development with a better understanding of pain pathways in recent years. These treatments take advantage of the multifactorial components of pain, including agents such as ketamine, capsaicin, gabapentin, pregabalin, long-acting opioids, peripheral nerve blockade, and patient-controlled analgesia. Numerous studies have revealed not only efficacy but additive and/or synergistic effects when multiple agents are utilized for pain management. Overall, adequate perioperative pain control is important both in an acute setting and in preventing the development of a chronic pain condition, which causes significant short- and long-term negative consequences. Best practice strategies are being utilized based on clinical studies to reduce pain and improve patient needs after surgery.

The Influence of the Quantity of Reward On the Learning Performance in Honeybees

Behaviour ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 41 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 27-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Erber ◽  
Randolf Menzel
Keyword(s):  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Learning Curves ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Retention ◽  
Y Maze ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Long Term Retention

Abstract(i) In a first series of experiments dark-adapted honeybees (Apis mellifera carnica) were trained to spectral colours (444 nm, 590 nm) in an Y-maze. The learning curves for different quantities of the reward (50 μl, 25 μl, I0 μl, 5 μl sucrose solution) were registered. The learning process is independent of the quantity of the reward. (2) In a second series of experiments freely flying bees were trained on horizontal ground-glass discs under daylight conditions. Broad-banded spectral light was projected onto the discs from below. The duration of the reward was kept constant (30 sec). By varying the influx velocity of the sucrose solution (25 μl/30 sec, 9 μl/30 sec, 2.5 μl/30 sec) the bees were offered different quantities of the reward. It can be shown that learning progress is better with the smallest quantity than with the greater ones. (3) In the discussion the learning system is described as being independent of a mechanism controlling the motivation. The experiments enable us more exactly to characterize the bee's learning system with its short-term and long-term retention.

Effects of Methylphenidate on Acquisition and Subsequent Performance of Successive Discrimination Reversals

1977 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 543-546
Author(s):  
George W. Handley
Keyword(s):  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Isotonic Saline ◽  
Performance Effect ◽  
Subsequent Performance ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Performance Results ◽  
Long Term Performance ◽  
Term Performance

20 rats were trained to bar press for sucrose solution in the presence of one of two stimulus conditions. On each of 6 daily training sessions the reward value of the stimuli was reversed. 20 min. prior to the second reversal, the subjects received an i.p. injection of either isotonic saline, 2 mg/kg, 4 mg/kg, or 8 mg/kg of methylphenidate. The performance of drugged subjects was superior on Reversal 2. In the 2 mg/kg condition this effect persisted over Reversals 2 to 6, indicating that more than a transient performance effect was induced by drug administration. A second study using 16 subjects was conducted to ascertain additional information relative to the effects of the 2 mg/kg dose on short- and long-term performance. Results supported the contention that this dose level, when administered during early training, produces long-term enhancement of problem solving.

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