Searching for anatomical correlates of olfactory lateralization in the honeybee antennal lobes : A morphological and behavioural study
(2011) In Behavioural Brain Research 221(1). p.290-294- Abstract
The honeybee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), has recently become a model for studying brain asymmetry among invertebrates. A strong lateralization favouring the right antenna was discovered in odour learning and short-term memory recall experiments, and a lateral shift favouring the left antenna for long-term memory recall. Corresponding morphological asymmetries have been found in the distribution of olfactory sensilla between the antennae and confirmed by electrophysiological odour response measurements in isolated right and left antennae. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a morphological asymmetry can be observed in the volume of the primary olfactory centres of the central nervous system, the antennal lobes... (More)
The honeybee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), has recently become a model for studying brain asymmetry among invertebrates. A strong lateralization favouring the right antenna was discovered in odour learning and short-term memory recall experiments, and a lateral shift favouring the left antenna for long-term memory recall. Corresponding morphological asymmetries have been found in the distribution of olfactory sensilla between the antennae and confirmed by electrophysiological odour response measurements in isolated right and left antennae. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a morphological asymmetry can be observed in the volume of the primary olfactory centres of the central nervous system, the antennal lobes (ALs). Precise volume measurements of a subset of their functional units, the glomeruli, were performed in both sides of the brain, exploiting the advantages of two-photon microscopy. This novel method allowed minimal invasive acquisition of volume images of the ALs, avoiding artefacts from brain extraction and dehydration. The study was completed by a series of behavioural experiments in which response asymmetry in odour recall following proboscis extension reflex conditioning was assessed for odours, chosen to stimulate strong activity in the same glomeruli as in the morphological study. The volumetric measurements found no evidence of lateralization in the investigated glomeruli within the experimental limits. Instead, in the behavioural experiments, a striking odour dependence of the lateralization was observed. The results are discussed on the basis of recent neurophysiological and ethological experiments in A. mellifera.
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- author
- Rigosi, Elisa LU ; Frasnelli, Elisa ; Vinegoni, Claudio ; Antolini, Renzo ; Anfora, Gianfranco ; Vallortigara, Giorgio and Haase, Albrecht
- publishing date
- 2011-08-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- Antennal lobes, Apis mellifera, Brain asymmetry, Olfactory learning, Two-photon microscopy
- in
- Behavioural Brain Research
- volume
- 221
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 5 pages
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:21402106
- scopus:79954634101
- ISSN
- 0166-4328
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.015
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Funding Information: This work has been realised with the support from the Provincia Autonoma di Trento and the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Trento e Rovereto. C.V. acknowledges Provincia Autonoma di Trento (project COMNFI) and NIH grant RO1EB006432 .
- id
- 0f7d79db-565c-4a8e-b6a2-79661e193271
- date added to LUP
- 2023-10-12 09:28:59
- date last changed
- 2024-01-04 06:03:52
@article{0f7d79db-565c-4a8e-b6a2-79661e193271,
abstract = {{<p>The honeybee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), has recently become a model for studying brain asymmetry among invertebrates. A strong lateralization favouring the right antenna was discovered in odour learning and short-term memory recall experiments, and a lateral shift favouring the left antenna for long-term memory recall. Corresponding morphological asymmetries have been found in the distribution of olfactory sensilla between the antennae and confirmed by electrophysiological odour response measurements in isolated right and left antennae. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a morphological asymmetry can be observed in the volume of the primary olfactory centres of the central nervous system, the antennal lobes (ALs). Precise volume measurements of a subset of their functional units, the glomeruli, were performed in both sides of the brain, exploiting the advantages of two-photon microscopy. This novel method allowed minimal invasive acquisition of volume images of the ALs, avoiding artefacts from brain extraction and dehydration. The study was completed by a series of behavioural experiments in which response asymmetry in odour recall following proboscis extension reflex conditioning was assessed for odours, chosen to stimulate strong activity in the same glomeruli as in the morphological study. The volumetric measurements found no evidence of lateralization in the investigated glomeruli within the experimental limits. Instead, in the behavioural experiments, a striking odour dependence of the lateralization was observed. The results are discussed on the basis of recent neurophysiological and ethological experiments in A. mellifera.</p>}},
author = {{Rigosi, Elisa and Frasnelli, Elisa and Vinegoni, Claudio and Antolini, Renzo and Anfora, Gianfranco and Vallortigara, Giorgio and Haase, Albrecht}},
issn = {{0166-4328}},
keywords = {{Antennal lobes; Apis mellifera; Brain asymmetry; Olfactory learning; Two-photon microscopy}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{08}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{290--294}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Behavioural Brain Research}},
title = {{Searching for anatomical correlates of olfactory lateralization in the honeybee antennal lobes : A morphological and behavioural study}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.015}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.015}},
volume = {{221}},
year = {{2011}},
}