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An investigation of the role of dopamine in the antennal lobes of the honeybee,Apis mellifera

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Summary

The effects of dopamine applied to the antennal lobes of the honeybee are investigated using the proboscis conditioning paradigm (Kuwabara 1957). The percentage of bees responding to a conditioned olfactory stimulus after a single conditioning trial is reduced significantly by the application of dopamine (10−6 M) to the antennal lobes of the bee brain. Reduction in response levels is significantly smaller in bees conditioned to the olfactory stimulus in multiple conditioning trials prior to treatment with dopamine. The effects of dopamine on the percentage of bees responding to a conditioned olfactory stimulus are blocked by the butyrophenone, haloperidol (10−5 M). The possible role of dopaminergic interneurones in the antennal lobes of the bee brain is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    C. S. Macmillan & A. R. Mercer

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  1. C. S. Macmillan
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  2. A. R. Mercer
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Macmillan, C.S., Mercer, A.R. An investigation of the role of dopamine in the antennal lobes of the honeybee,Apis mellifera . J. Comp. Physiol. 160, 359–366 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00613025

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00613025

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