j *@ - Sociedade Brasileira de Psicologia

TH E FUNCTIO NA L O BGA N IZATIO N O F THE HON EY BEE BRA IN
JULIANE MAUEU HAGEN
Universidade Livre de Berlim
The complex behaviour of h'oney bees has been subject to numerous investigations
leading to a detailed knowledge, for example, about how the bee manages to
find and remember food sources and to transfer this information to the other bees in
the hive. Involved is learning of different colors and odors and the ability to orientate
in the environment at distances often far away from the hive. This opens the question,
of how such a smal brainy containing not more than 850.000 cels (Withoeft, 1967),
is organized to serve so many different functions.
Am ong the variom teclmiques, which approach the functional organization of
a nervous system , the results from anatomy, immunohistochemistry and eledrophysiolol
lmder the aspect of learning and memory in the honey bee shall be
em phazised here. . '
'
A central problem in neurobiology is the question for the neuronal basis of
learning and memory. Sim ple nervom systems such as those of moluscs or insects are
especially suited for the analysis of simple learning behaviolzr. For the marine molœ c
Aplysia detailed models have been developed, which can explain sem itization, habituation
and conditioning on the celular and molecular level (Byrne, 1987). However, it is
still unclear whether these models can be applied as a general concept in higher
organisms as well. .' .
The analysis of associative learning behaviour on the fixed bee is based on the
classical odor conditioning (Menzel, 1983). If sugar water is delivered to one of the
antennae, then the bee responds with a reflectory extension of the proboscis (proboscis
reflex; unconditioned response, UT). In the conditioning procedure sugarwater is
presented to the antennae with a folowing reward to the proboscis serving as the
unconditioned stimulzs (US), and this is paired with an olfactory stimulus which
serves as the conditiöned stim tlzs (CS). As indication of an associative processy the bee
extends its proboscis in response to ihe odor alone (conditioned response, CR).
Our functional studies are aimed at the investigation of the brain areas,
neuroactive substances and behaviolzr of single cells which are involved in tMs
associative proceu . ' '
M atomy
First of all the main nemopilar areas of the bee brnin should be reviewed. The
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