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Section Symposium

Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology

Neurophysiological Basis of Olfactory Communication and Odor Detection in Insects

Effects of active sensing in associative learning in the honey bee, Apis mellifera

Tuesday, November 12, 2024
4:20 PM – 4:40 PM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 122 B, PCC
Oral Presentation

Animals align their sensory organs with dynamic stimuli in the environment to maximize information input, a behavior described as active sensing, such as sniffing in dogs. Insects modify antenna movement based on the orientation and/or saliency of incoming olfactory signals, suggesting a strong correlation between antenna movement and active sensing. At present, it’s unknown how it may affect olfactory learning. Here, we address this question by: First, honey bee foragers were subjected to a differential training protocol where one odor (CS+) was rewarded with sugar water (US) and the other odor (CS-) was punished with salt water, and later tested with CS+ and CS- at different concentrations. Second, antennae were either fixed or free during the training protocol and the training results were assessed with binary scores of proboscis extension reflex (PER) and the electromyogram (EMG) underlying PER. Third, electrophysiological recordings were performed from the antennae and the primary olfactory center, i.e. antennal lobes, while the bees were differentially conditioned under fixed- or free-antenna treatments. We have found that (1) Antennae respond to odors more consistently when they are free to move; (2) Whether the antennae are free or fixed, bees learn the CS-US association equally well; (3) However, neuronal responses in the antennal lobe show more distinction between CS+ and CS- when the antennae are free than are fixed; (4) Neuronal responses are correlated more tightly with the learning performance when measured by EMG. In summary, our results support  that active sensing affects associative learning in honey bees.