Perceptual and Neural Olfactory Similarity in Honeybees
<p>The question of whether or not neural activity patterns recorded in the olfactory centres of the brain correspond to olfactory perceptual measures remains unanswered. To address this question, we studied olfaction in honeybees <named-content content-type="genus-species">Apis...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2005-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS Biology |
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030060 |
| _version_ | 1818999870207295488 |
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| author | Guerrieri Fernando Schubert Marco Sandoz Jean-Christophe Giurfa Martin |
| author_facet | Guerrieri Fernando Schubert Marco Sandoz Jean-Christophe Giurfa Martin |
| author_sort | Guerrieri Fernando |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>The question of whether or not neural activity patterns recorded in the olfactory centres of the brain correspond to olfactory perceptual measures remains unanswered. To address this question, we studied olfaction in honeybees <named-content content-type="genus-species">Apis mellifera</named-content> using the olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension response. We conditioned bees to odours and tested generalisation responses to different odours. Sixteen odours were used, which varied both in their functional group (primary and secondary alcohols, aldehydes and ketones) and in their carbon-chain length (from six to nine carbons).The results obtained by presentation of a total of 16 x 16 odour pairs show that (i) all odorants presented could be learned, although acquisition was lower for short-chain ketones; (ii) generalisation varied depending both on the functional group and the carbon-chain length of odours trained; higher generalisation was found between long-chain than between short-chain molecules and between groups such as primary and secondary alcohols; (iii) for some odour pairs, cross-generalisation between odorants was asymmetric; (iv) a putative olfactory space could be defined for the honeybee with functional group and carbon-chain length as inner dimensions; (v) perceptual distances in such a space correlate well with physiological distances determined from optophysiological recordings of antennal lobe activity. We conclude that functional group and carbon-chain length are inner dimensions of the honeybee olfactory space and that neural activity in the antennal lobe reflects the perceptual quality of odours.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T22:24:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d390a6bf893c4560985711ec485cda26 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1544-9173 1545-7885 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T22:24:17Z |
| publishDate | 2005-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-d390a6bf893c4560985711ec485cda262022-12-21T19:24:52ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852005-01-0134e6010.1371/journal.pbio.0030060.20050521Perceptual and Neural Olfactory Similarity in HoneybeesGuerrieri FernandoSchubert MarcoSandoz Jean-ChristopheGiurfa Martin<p>The question of whether or not neural activity patterns recorded in the olfactory centres of the brain correspond to olfactory perceptual measures remains unanswered. To address this question, we studied olfaction in honeybees <named-content content-type="genus-species">Apis mellifera</named-content> using the olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension response. We conditioned bees to odours and tested generalisation responses to different odours. Sixteen odours were used, which varied both in their functional group (primary and secondary alcohols, aldehydes and ketones) and in their carbon-chain length (from six to nine carbons).The results obtained by presentation of a total of 16 x 16 odour pairs show that (i) all odorants presented could be learned, although acquisition was lower for short-chain ketones; (ii) generalisation varied depending both on the functional group and the carbon-chain length of odours trained; higher generalisation was found between long-chain than between short-chain molecules and between groups such as primary and secondary alcohols; (iii) for some odour pairs, cross-generalisation between odorants was asymmetric; (iv) a putative olfactory space could be defined for the honeybee with functional group and carbon-chain length as inner dimensions; (v) perceptual distances in such a space correlate well with physiological distances determined from optophysiological recordings of antennal lobe activity. We conclude that functional group and carbon-chain length are inner dimensions of the honeybee olfactory space and that neural activity in the antennal lobe reflects the perceptual quality of odours.</p>http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030060Animal BehaviorNeuroscienceZoology |
| spellingShingle | Guerrieri Fernando Schubert Marco Sandoz Jean-Christophe Giurfa Martin Perceptual and Neural Olfactory Similarity in Honeybees PLoS Biology Animal Behavior Neuroscience Zoology |
| title | Perceptual and Neural Olfactory Similarity in Honeybees |
| title_full | Perceptual and Neural Olfactory Similarity in Honeybees |
| title_fullStr | Perceptual and Neural Olfactory Similarity in Honeybees |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceptual and Neural Olfactory Similarity in Honeybees |
| title_short | Perceptual and Neural Olfactory Similarity in Honeybees |
| title_sort | perceptual and neural olfactory similarity in honeybees |
| topic | Animal Behavior Neuroscience Zoology |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030060 |
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