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Updated: Apr 29, 2026

Neuropharmacological Manipulation of Restrained and Free-flying Honey Bees, Apis mellifera
Published on: November 26, 2016
Improved Cholinergic Transmission is Detrimental to Behavioural Plasticity in Honeybees (Apis mellifera)
David Guez1, Hong Zhu2, Shao-Wu Zhang3
1School of Psychology, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia. david.guez@newcastle.edu.au.
Abstract:
Unravelling the role of neuromessenger processes in learning and memory has long interested researchers. We investigated the effects of an acetylcholinesterase blocker, Methyl Parathion (MeP), on honeybee learning. We used visual and olfactory tasks to test whether MeP had a detrimental effect on the acquisition of new knowledge when this new knowledge contradicts previously acquired one. Our results indicate that treatment with MeP prior to conditioning was significantly detrimental to the acquisition of incongruous (but not irrelevant or congruous) new knowledge due to improved recall. The neurobiological and ecotoxicological consequences of these results are discussed.
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