Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

In vivo Ca2+- Imaging of Mushroom Body Neurons During Olfactory Learning in the Honey Bee
Published on: August 18, 2009
Honeybee olfactory sensilla behave as integrated processing units
1Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
Abstract:
Honeybee placode sensilla contain 18-35 olfactory receptor neurons. In insects, such neurons are thought to not interact with one another before reaching the central nervous system. Extracellular, multiunit recordings were made from the placodes and separated into spike shape classes, termed subplacode units. An analysis of the response spectra of subplacode units demonstrated that subplacode units with similar response spectra were more likely to be found in different placodes than in the same placode. An analysis was made of the mean interspike intervals and its variation for whole placodes and subplacode units. The coefficient of variation for whole placodes was less than that for subplacode units. Whole placode spike trains are therefore more uniform than subplacode spike trains, indicating that neurons might not be firing independently of each other.
Related Concept Videos
What is a Sensory System?
Olfaction
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...
Introduction to Special Senses
Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway
The olfactory...
Tactile and Chemical Senses

