Associative Learning of Quantitative Mechanosensory Stimuli in Honeybees.

ABSTRACT: The proboscis extension response (PER) has been widely used to evaluate honeybees' (Apis mellifera) learning and memory abilities, typically by using odors and visual cues for the conditioned stimuli. Here we asked whether honeybees could learn to distinguish between different magnitudes of the same type of stimulus, given as two speeds of air flux. By taking advantage of a novel automated system for administering PER experiments, we determined that the bees were highly successful when the lower air flux was rewarded and less successful when the higher flux was rewarded. Importantly, since our method includes AI-assisted analysis, we were able to consider subthreshold responses at a high temporal resolution; this analysis revealed patterns of rapid generalization and slowly acquired

SUBMITTER: Strelevitz H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10889140 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature