Acute stress modulates early visual perception and decision-making speed in bees.

Area of Science:

• Animal Behavior
• Neuroscience
• Sensory Ecology

Background:

• Affective states significantly impact decision-making and sensory processing.
• Threatening stimuli in humans enhance visual perception for faster responses.
• The effect of stress on insect vision and decision-making remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how stress, induced by a simulated predatory attack, influences bumblebee vision.
• To assess the impact of stress on spatial vision thresholds (resolution and contrast).
• To examine stress-induced changes in bumblebee choice dynamics during a discrimination task.

Main Methods:

• Inducing a negative affective state in bumblebees via a simulated predatory attack.
• Measuring changes in contrast sensitivity and spatial frequency thresholds.
• Analyzing choice behavior and decision speed in a dual-choice task.

Main Results:

• Stress increased the contrast sensitivity threshold in bumblebees.
• Stress shifted the spatial frequency threshold towards finer resolution.
• Stress accelerated decision-making and increased commitment without compromising accuracy.

Conclusions:

• Predation experience reshapes bumblebee visual sensitivity and decision-making.
• Stress enhances visual processing and decision speed, driven by perceptual confidence.
• These findings highlight adaptive sensory and cognitive adjustments in response to threat.