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No evidence for olfactory blocking in honeybee classical conditioning

Gerber1, Ullrich

  • 1Institut fur Neurobiologie, Freie Universitat Berlin, Konigin-Luise-Strasse 28/30, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. bertram. gerber@unifr.ch.

The Journal of Experimental Biology
|June 9, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Researchers investigated blocking in honeybee olfactory learning. After controlling for confounding variables, the blocking-like effect disappeared, questioning cognition-like concepts in bee learning.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Science
  • Neuroscience
  • Animal Cognition

Background:

  • Blocking is a learning phenomenon where prior learning inhibits new associations.
  • Blocking has been observed in vertebrates and recently reported in honeybee olfactory learning.
  • Cognition-like concepts such as attention and expectation are used to explain blocking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the phenomenon of blocking in honeybee classical olfactory conditioning.
  • To determine if previously reported blocking effects in honeybees are robust or influenced by experimental design.
  • To evaluate the applicability of cognition-like concepts to honeybee learning.

Main Methods:

  • Replication of a blocking-like effect using binary odorant compounds and a sucrose reward.

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  • Identification and experimental manipulation of confounding variables in the original experimental design.
  • Implementation of varied training procedures to isolate the effect of blocking.

    • Main Results:

    • A blocking-like effect was initially reproduced.
    • Two confounding variables were identified as potential contributors to the observed effect.
    • Elimination of confounding variables through modified training procedures resulted in the disappearance of the blocking-like effect.

    Conclusions:

    • Convincing evidence for blocking in honeybee classical olfactory conditioning is currently lacking.
    • The initial blocking-like effect appears to be an artifact of experimental design, not a true learning phenomenon.
    • The findings cast doubt on the direct applicability of cognition-like concepts like attention and expectation to honeybee learning.