Learning from learning and memory in bumblebees

Abstract

The difficulty to simultaneously record neural activity and behavior presents a considerable limitation for studying mechanisms of insect learning and memory. The challenge is finding a model suitable for the use of behavioral paradigms under the restrained conditions necessary for neural recording. In honeybees, Pavlovian conditioning relying on the proboscis extension reflex (PER) has been used with great success to study different aspects of insect cognition. However, it is desirable to combine the advantages of the PER with a more robust model that allows simultaneous electrical or optical recording of neural activity. Here, we briefly discuss the potential use of bumblebees as models for the study of learning and memory under restrained conditions. We base our arguments on the well-known cognitive abilities of bumblebees, their social organization and phylogenetic proximity to honeybees, our recent success using Pavlovian conditioning to study learning in two bumblebee species, and on the recently demonstrated robustness of bumblebees under conditions suitable for electrophysiological recording.

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Acknowledgements

Our research is currently funded by an NSF grant to WG (IOB-0519483) and by research awards of the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Insect Science (University of Arizona) to A.J.R.

Figures and Tables

Figure 1 Examples for different degrees of physical restriction in bumblebee behavioral paradigms. (A) Harnessed bee undergoing PER conditioning; (B) harnessed bee during electrophysiological recording; (C) tagged bee flying in foraging cage; (D) walking on a treadmill.

Figure 2 Correlation between acquisition performance and body size in the bumblebee B. impatiens. c = number of training trials necessary for the first conditioned response to appear.

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