Socially induced brain development in a facultatively eusocial sweat bee<i>Megalopta genalis</i>(Halictidae)

Smith, Adam R.; Seid, Marc A.; Jimenez, Lissette; Wcislo, William T.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0269

Cited by 75 publications

(81 citation statements)

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“…Neural architecture has been shown to be influenced by age, task and experience. Principally socially mediated plasticity in the mushroom body (MB) has been observed in the age-induced transition from inside tasks, such as nursing the offspring, to more complex external foraging tasks (Fahrbach et al, 1998;Smith et al, 2010;Farris et al, 2001;Fahrbach et al, 2003). Foraging demands new types of learning, such as identifying and memorizing the colony's location, spatial orientation using environmental cues for navigation and social communication such as the dance language to recruit foragers (Seeley, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aversive conditioning in honey bees (Apis mellifera anatolica): a comparison of drones and workers

Dinges

Avalos

Abramson

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aversive conditioning in honey bees (Apis mellifera anatolica): a comparison of drones and workers

Dinges

Avalos

Abramson

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Independent founders showed greater queen-worker differences than swarm founders. Queens and other dominant females in independent founding paper wasp colonies species often engage in high rates of aggressive interactions and confront strong reproductive competition (8,9). Less is known about queen-worker interactions in swarm founding Epiponini.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased hippocampal size in passerine birds has been associated with improved memory and the advent of food-storing behavior (6). Increased size and complexity of the mushroom bodies (MB), the neural centers of higher-order cognitive processing in insects, are paired with an increase in the prevalence of generalist feeding ecologies across species (7) and with social dominance status within species (8)(9)(10).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In paper wasps, the MB calyces are central processing neuropils involved in learning, memory, and sensory integration, and the calyces show stronger behavior-related changes in volume compared with other MB structures (8,23). Brain regions associated with the compound eyes (optic lobes) and antennae (antennal lobes) are dedicated to peripheral sensory processing of visual and olfactory information, respectively (9,26). We tested whether species differences in the ratio of investment in these central and peripheral processing brain regions was related to total brain volume.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Comparative analysis of constraints and caste differences in brain investment among social paper wasps

O’Donnell

Clifford

Molina³

2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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We compared species mean data on the size of functionally distinct brain regions to test the relative rates at which investment in higher-order cognitive processing (mushroom body calyces) versus peripheral sensory processing (optic and antennal lobes) increased with increasing brain size. Subjects were eusocial paper wasps from queen and worker castes of 10 species from different genera. Relative investment in central processing tissue increased with brain size at a higher rate than peripheral structure investment, demonstrating that tissue devoted to higher-order cognitive processing is more constrained by brain size. This pattern held for raw data and for phylogenetically independent contrasts. These findings suggest that there is a minimum necessary investment in peripheral sensory processing brain tissue, with little to gain from additional investment. In contrast, increased brain size provides opportunities to invest in additional higher-order cognitive processing tissue. Reproductive castes differed within species in brain tissue investment, with higher central-to-peripheral brain tissue ratios in queens than in workers. Coupled with previous findings that paper wasp queen, but not worker, brain architecture corresponds to ecological and social variation, queen brain evolution appears to be most strongly shaped by cognitive demands, such as social interactions. These evolutionary patterns of neural investment echo findings in other animal lineages and have important implications, given that a greater investment in higherorder processing has been shown to increase the prevalence of complex and flexible behaviors across the animal kingdom.Hymenoptera | mushroom bodies | social brain | Vespidae A s brains evolve, both relative expansion of specific brain regions and general increases in absolute brain size can enable changes in animal cognitive capacity (1). Of particular note is the frequent convergent evolution of central brain regions that perform higher-order cognitive processing. Larger central processing centers are associated with enhanced capacity for learning, memory, and behavioral innovation among species (1-3). In primates, increased investment in higher-order cognitive processing structures, such as the neocortex and hippocampus, has been linked to increased cognitive performance (4), and the neocortex is five times larger in primates than in insectivores after accounting for differences in whole brain size (5). Increased hippocampal size in passerine birds has been associated with improved memory and the advent of food-storing behavior (6). Increased size and complexity of the mushroom bodies (MB), the neural centers of higher-order cognitive processing in insects, are paired with an increase in the prevalence of generalist feeding ecologies across species (7) and with social dominance status within species (8-10).Molecular evidence supports a single origin of the CNS in bilaterally symmetrical animals, including insects and vertebrates, occurring before the protostome-deuterostome split (11). ...

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“…using group-level signals), which would increase the need for increased memory and learning as society size increases [19,23]. In social insects, the effect of social life on brain size and anatomy has been tested by comparing solitary and social species [24], and by comparing facultatively social species in their solitary and social phases [25]. Monomorphic ants that are obligate plant associates allow an accurate test of the TSH and the SBH, because workers show size-independent task specialization and colony size can be more accurately quantified in the field than for soil-nesting ant species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Specialization and group size: brain and behavioural correlates of colony size in ants lacking morphological castes

et al. 2015

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Group size in both multicellular organisms and animal societies can correlate with the degree of division of labour. For ants, the task specialization hypothesis (TSH) proposes that increased behavioural specialization enabled by larger group size corresponds to anatomical specialization of worker brains. Alternatively, the social brain hypothesis proposes that increased levels of social stimuli in larger colonies lead to enlarged brain regions in all workers, regardless of their task specialization. We tested these hypotheses in acacia ants (Pseudomyrmex spinicola), which exhibit behavioural but not morphological task specialization. In wild colonies, we marked, followed and tested ant workers involved in foraging tasks on the leaves (leaf-ants) and in defensive tasks on the host tree trunk (trunk-ants). Task specialization increased with colony size, especially in defensive tasks. The relationship between colony size and brain region volume was task-dependent, supporting the TSH. Specifically, as colony size increased, the relative size of regions within the mushroom bodies of the brain decreased in trunk-ants but increased in leaf-ants; those regions play important roles in learning and memory. Our findings suggest that workers specialized in defence may have reduced learning abilities relative to leaf-ants; these inferences remain to be tested. In societies with monomorphic workers, brain polymorphism enhanced by group size could be a mechanism by which division of labour is achieved.

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Socially induced brain development in a facultatively eusocial sweat beeMegalopta genalis(Halictidae)

Cited by 75 publications

References 54 publications

Aversive conditioning in honey bees (Apis mellifera anatolica): a comparison of drones and workers

Aversive conditioning in honey bees (Apis mellifera anatolica): a comparison of drones and workers

Comparative analysis of constraints and caste differences in brain investment among social paper wasps

Specialization and group size: brain and behavioural correlates of colony size in ants lacking morphological castes

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