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J Comp Physiol A

Title:		Asymmetrical generalisation between pheromonal and floral odours in appetitive olfactory conditioning of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.)
Author(s):		Sandoz JC; Pham-Delegue MH; Renou M; Wadhams LJ;
Address:		"Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Comparee des Invertebres, INRA, Bures-sur-Yvette, France"
Journal Title:		J Comp Physiol A
Year:		2001
Volume:		187
Issue:		7
Page Number:		559 - 568
DOI:		10.1007/s003590100228
ISSN/ISBN:
Abstract:		"The capacity to generalise between similar but not identical olfactory stimuli is crucial for honey bees, allowing them to find rewarding food sources with varying volatile emissions. We studied bees' generalisation behaviour with odours having different biological values: typical floral odours or alarm compounds. Bees' behavioural and peripheral electrophysiological responses were investigated using a combined proboscis extension response conditioning-electroantennogram assay. Bees were conditioned to pure linalool (floral) or to pure isoamyl acetate (alarm) and were tested with different concentrations of both compounds. Electrophysiological responses were not influenced by conditioning, suggesting that the learning of individual compounds does not rely on modulations of peripheral sensitivity. Behaviourally, generalisation responses of bees conditioned to the alarm compound were much higher than those of bees conditioned to the floral odour. We further demonstrated such asymmetrical generalisation between alarm and floral odours by using differential conditioning procedures. Conditioning to alarm compounds (isoamyl acetate or 2-heptanone) consistently induced more generalisation than conditioning to floral compounds (linalool or phenylacetaldehyde). Interestingly, generalisation between the two alarm compounds, which are otherwise chemically different, was extremely high. These results are discussed in relation to the neural representation of compounds with different biological significance for bees"
Keywords:		"Animals Bees/*physiology Behavior, Animal *Conditioning, Classical *Discrimination Learning Electrophysiology Male Odorants *Pheromones Plant Structures Plants *Smell;"
Notes:		"MedlineSandoz, J C Pham-Delegue, M H Renou, M Wadhams, L J eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Germany 2001/12/04 J Comp Physiol A. 2001 Sep; 187(7):559-68. doi: 10.1007/s003590100228"