Changes in the structure of the mushroom bodies and antennal lobes
(with the laboratory of Dr. Susan Fahrbach)
How does a bee's brain support the striking changes in behavior
that take place during maturation? A small part of the answer
lies in the mushroom bodies, a brain region thought to be the
center of learning and memory in insects. We discovered about a 20% increase in the volume of a specific area of the mushroom bodies
as worker honey bees mature. This volume increase occurs in a
mushroom-body subregion where synapses, or connections, are
made between neurons from other brain regions that are devoted to sensory
input. This was the first report of such brain plasticity in an invertebrate,
and it was
particularly exciting because volume increases in brain regions in vertebrates
reflect increases in certain cognitive abilities. The increase in the mushroom
bodies might be learning-related.
Representative Publications
Farris SM, Robinson GE, Fahrbach
SE (2001) Experience- and
age-related outgrowth of intrinsic neurons in the mushroom bodies of the adult
worker honey bee. J. Neurosci. 21:6395-6404. (pdf)
How does a bee's brain support the striking changes in behavior
that take place during maturation? A small part of the answer
lies in the mushroom bodies, a brain region thought to be the
center of learning and memory in insects. We discovered about a 20% increase in the volume of a specific area of the mushroom bodies
as worker honey bees mature. This volume increase occurs in a
mushroom-body subregion where synapses, or connections, are
made between neurons from other brain regions that are devoted to sensory
input. This was the first report of such brain plasticity in an invertebrate,
and it was
particularly exciting because volume increases in brain regions in vertebrates
reflect increases in certain cognitive abilities. The increase in the mushroom
bodies might be learning-related.