Modulation of Early Olfactory Processing by an Octopaminergic Reinforcement Pathway in the Honeybee

• Published in: The Journal of neuroscience Vol. 23; no. 12; pp. 5370 - 5380
• Main Authors: Farooqui, Tahira, Robinson, Kellie, Vaessin, Harald, Smith, Brian H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Soc Neuroscience 15-06-2003; Society for Neuroscience
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Bees - physiology; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive; Conditioning (Psychology) - drug effects; Discrimination Learning - drug effects; Discrimination Learning - physiology; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Mental Recall - drug effects; Mental Recall - physiology; Mianserin - pharmacology; Molecular Sequence Data; Octopamine - metabolism; Receptors, Biogenic Amine - antagonists & inhibitors; Receptors, Biogenic Amine - genetics; Receptors, Biogenic Amine - metabolism; Reflex - drug effects; Reinforcement (Psychology); RNA, Double-Stranded - pharmacology; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Signal Transduction - physiology; Smell - physiology; Stimulation, Chemical
• ISSN: 0270-6474; 1529-2401
• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.23-12-05370.2003

Processing of olfactory information in the antennal lobes of insects and olfactory bulbs of vertebrates is modulated by centrifugal inputs that represent reinforcing events. Octopamine release by one such pathway in the honeybee antennal lobe modulates olfactory processing in relation to nectar (sucrose) reinforcement. To test more specifically what role octopamine plays in the antennal lobe, we used two treatments to disrupt an octopamine receptor from Apis mellifera brain (AmOAR) function: (1) an OAR antagonist, mianserin, was used to block receptor function, and (2) AmOAR double-stranded RNA was used to silence receptor expression. Both treatments inhibited olfactory acquisition and recall, but they did not disrupt odor discrimination. These results suggest that octopamine mediates consolidation of a component of olfactory memory at this early processing stage in the antennal lobe. Furthermore, after consolidation, octopamine release becomes essential for recall, which suggests that the modulatory circuits become incorporated as essential components of neural representations that activate odor memory.