A bee-line into learning and memory mechanisms

Mercer, Alison R.

doi:10.1007/s00018-008-8324-7

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…With an antibody directed against Am5-HT 1A , we have been able to identify regions in the honeybee brain expressing this receptor. A high density of Am5-HT 1A has been found in the mushroom bodies, structures of the insect brain that are involved in learning and memory (for recent reviews, see: [49][50][51][52][53][54]). Injection of serotonin into the bee brain has been shown to impair the acquisition and retrieval of learned behavioral patterns [14,15].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization of the 5-HT1A receptor of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and involvement of serotonin in phototactic behavior

Thamm

Balfanz

Scheiner

et al. 2010

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

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Serotonin plays a key role in modulating various physiological and behavioral processes in both protostomes and deuterostomes. The vast majority of serotonin receptors belong to the superfamily of G-protein-coupled receptors. We report the cloning of a cDNA from the honeybee (Am5-ht1A) sharing high similarity with members of the 5-HT(1) receptor class. Activation of Am5-HT(1A) by serotonin inhibited the production of cAMP in a dose-dependent manner (EC(50) = 16.9 nM). Am5-HT(1A) was highly expressed in brain regions known to be involved in visual information processing. Using in vivo pharmacology, we could demonstrate that Am5-HT(1A) receptor ligands had a strong impact on the phototactic behavior of individual bees. The data presented here mark the first comprehensive study-from gene to behavior-of a 5-HT(1A) receptor in the honeybee, paving the way for the eventual elucidation of additional roles of this receptor subtype in the physiology and behavior of this social insect.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The honeybee is a well-established model organism for studying various behaviors including learning and memory, division of labor, defense behavior, and circadian rhythmicity [51,54,56,57,65,66]. Many of these behaviors are modulated by the biogenic amine serotonin.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of the 5-HT1A receptor of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and involvement of serotonin in phototactic behavior

Thamm

Balfanz

Scheiner

et al. 2010

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

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“…The biogenic amines serotonin, dopamine, octopamine and tyramine are prime candidates for regulating division of labor through modulation of sensory response thresholds (Scheiner et al, 2006). Although serotonin, dopamine and octopamine have been studied in some detail with respect to their role in modulating behavioral responses Baumann, 2001, 2015;Blenau and Thamm, 2011;Ellen and Mercer, 2012;Giurfa, 2006;Mercer, 2008;Scheiner et al, 2006;Thamm et al, 2010), tyramine has rarely been studied. It was long believed to be simply a metabolic precursor of the well-known neurotransmitter and neurohormone octopamine.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning, gustatory responsiveness and tyramine differences across nurse and forager honeybees

Scheiner

Reim

Søvik

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Honeybees are well known for their complex division of labor. Each bee sequentially performs a series of social tasks during its life. The changes in social task performance are linked to gross differences in behavior and physiology. We tested whether honeybees performing different social tasks (nursing versus foraging) would differ in their gustatory responsiveness and associative learning behavior in addition to their daily tasks in the colony. Further, we investigated the role of the biogenic amine tyramine and its receptors in the behavior of nurse bees and foragers. Tyramine is an important insect neurotransmitter, which has long been neglected in behavioral studies as it was believed to only act as the metabolic precursor of the better-known amine octopamine. With the increasing number of characterized tyramine receptors in diverse insects, we need to understand the functions of tyramine on its own account. Our findings suggest an important role for tyramine and its two receptors in regulating honeybee gustatory responsiveness, social organization and learning behavior. Foragers, which were more responsive to gustatory stimuli than nurse bees and performed better in appetitive learning, also differed from nurse bees in their tyramine brain titers and in the mRNA expression of a tyramine receptor in the brain. Pharmacological activation of tyramine receptors increased gustatory responsiveness of nurse bees and foragers and improved appetitive learning in nurse bees. These data suggest that a large part of the behavioral differences between honeybees may be directly linked to tyramine signaling in the brain.

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Distribution of serotonin (5-HT) and its receptors in the insect brain with focus on the mushroom bodies. Lessons from Drosophila melanogaster and Apis mellifera

Blenau

Thamm

2011

Arthropod Structure & Development

109

101

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A bee-line into learning and memory mechanisms

Cited by 3 publications

References 35 publications

Characterization of the 5-HT1A receptor of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and involvement of serotonin in phototactic behavior

Characterization of the 5-HT1A receptor of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and involvement of serotonin in phototactic behavior

Learning, gustatory responsiveness and tyramine differences across nurse and forager honeybees

Distribution of serotonin (5-HT) and its receptors in the insect brain with focus on the mushroom bodies. Lessons from Drosophila melanogaster and Apis mellifera

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