The beard's beard function for memory

We all know that the right and left brain hemispheres perform different tasks. Lesions in the left hemisphere weaken language use and perception. The right hemisphere of the brain causes a lack of visual perception of space, such as the inability to recognize familiar faces.

In the past few years, we have become accustomed to the notion that functional asymmetry between the left and right regions of the nervous system does not only appear in humans. Fish, amphibians, birds and mammals also have an imbalance in function and anatomy.

Therefore, the idea that all vertebrates, including other human species, have asymmetric brains are finally accepted. Currently, the process of expansion between species is ongoing. The true development of one side of the brain is beyond the framework of vertebrate species. According to an article published in PLoS ONE by Lesey J. Rogers (Center for Neuroscience and Animal Behavior, University of New England (Australia)), and Giorgio Vallortigara (Center for Neuroscience / Brain Science, Trento University (Italy)) writes, insects, with nervous systems are different from vertebrates, are also 'deviating'.

The authors studied memory in bees using a tested procedure, known as nozzle extension reflex (PER). When there is a drop of sugar solution, the honey bee extends the nozzle to suck it. If an odor stimulus, such as lemon scent, appears shortly after, after only a short training period, it has learned to stretch the spout only when there is a scent present.

Honeybee.(Photo: wikipedia)

Honey bees can learn how to distinguish between many different odors, it will stretch the nozzle for the smell of lemon but not for vanilla odor. They can keep memory of smell for a long time. The smell is recognized by two beard on the head of the honey bee. After the bees were trained to use both antennae, Rogers and Vallortigara tested their recall ability. They covered the left or right beard with a harmless blind plastic that made one side of the beard unable to recognize the smell.

The authors observed that after an hour of practice, honey bees identified the smell correctly when using the right beard without using the left antenna. However, 24 hours later, this process was reversed: the reaction was significantly higher when the left antenna was used.

The 'development on one side' seems to be related to the process of memory formation. When testing using a one-sided form (the scent is brought to the left or right of the bee) and does not cover any beard (both antennae are used), the authors found that the bees show Better memory when they are tested about an hour after training to use the right beard, its memory is no longer available 3 hours later. However, 6 hours after training, the memory of honeybees was shifted and recalled mainly when using the left antenna. The memory continues to exist in the left antenna for a long time (after 6 hours, maintained within 24 hours).

It seems that the right antenna and related neurological structure form the basis for temporary memory in the short period, while the left antenna supports learning for a long time, forming about 3 hours after being trained. .

There is still one thing the researchers do not know yet is whether the right-to-beard learning is enough to produce short-term encryption in the right side of the brain and long-term coding in the left region. There is also a hypothesis: memories are similarly encoded in both areas of the brain but only the right beard can access short-term recall while the left antenna can access long-term flashbacks.

So what is the ecological reason for this phenomenon? The ability to move memories from one antenna to the other allows use of the right antenna to identify new odors without disturbing the memories of scent in long-term memory. Bees move to many different flowers at different times of the day when nectar is present. This leads to the formation of a link between different odors in the course of a day. This process can become easier if the recall of a certain odor does not exist in the brain's learning area.

Quote: Roger LJ, Vallortigara G (2008) From Antenna to Antenna: Lateral Shift of Olfactory Memory Recall by Honeybees. PLoS ONE 3 (6): e2340. doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0002340 http://www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0002340