Associative learning during early adulthood enhances later memory retention in honeybees.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cognitive experiences during the early stages of life play an important role in shaping the future behavior in mammals but also in insects, in which precocious learning can directly modify behaviors later in life depending on both the timing and the rearing environment. However, whether olfactory associative learning acquired early in the adult stage of insects affect memorizing of new learning events has not been studied yet.

Methodology

Groups of adult honeybee workers that experienced an odor paired with a sucrose solution 5 to 8 days or 9 to 12 days after emergence were previously exposed to (i) a rewarded experience through the offering of scented food, or (ii) a non-rewarded experience with a pure volatile compound in the rearing environment.

Principal fi

SUBMITTER: Arenas A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2779852 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature