Neural mechanism for integration of vector information encoded in honeybee waggle dance

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K14569
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Animal physiology/Animal behavior
• Research Institution: Fukuoka University
• Principal Investigator: Ai Hiroyuki 福岡大学, 理学部, 助教 (20330897)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 池野 英利 兵庫県立大学, 環境人間学部, 教授 (80176114)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 脳・神経 / 行動学 / 神経科学 / 昆虫 / 生理学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The follower of honeybee waggle dance decipher the distance information to the profitable flower from the duration of waggle phase. On this study the morphological and electrophysiological properties of vibration sensitive interneuron in the primary auditory center in the brain have been analyzed in responding to the waggle dance sound mimicked vibration pulse stimuli to the antenna and its possible neural circuit was suggested by experimental and theoretical evidences. DL-Int-1 has spontaneous activities and shows a tonic inhibition during waggle dance sound mimicked vibration pulse stimuli. Anti-GABA immunohistochemical experiment suggested that D-Int-1 is a GABAergic inhibitory neuron. The putative postsynaptic neuron DL-Int-2 shows a tonic excitation during the waggle dance sound mimicked vibration pulse stimuli. These results suggest that disinhibition from the sensory neuron to the DL-Int-2 through DL-Int-1 might be a key neural network to encode the distance information.

Free Research Field

神経行動学