Biomedical subjects
Randolf Menzel
Publications and source records attributed to Randolf Menzel.
Human spatial representation derived from a honeybee compass.
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Side-specificity of olfactory learning in the honeybee: US input side.
In honeybees, Apis mellifera L., the proboscis extension reflex (PER) can be conditioned by associating an odor stimulus (CS) with a sucrose reward (US). As the neural structures involved in the detection and integration of CS and US are bilaterally symmetrical in the bee brain, we ask what respective role each brain side plays in the conditioning process. More specifically, the US normally used in conditioning experiments is the compound stimulation of the antennae (which triggers the PER) and of the proboscis (where bees lick the sucrose solution). Anatomically, the brain receives unilateral US input through each antenna, but bilateral input from the proboscis. By controlling each US component, we show that an antenna-US produces unilateral sensitization, whereas a proboscis-US or a compound-US induces bilateral sensitization. Bees can learn a unilateral odor CS with all three USs, but when a proboscis-US is used, new learning is inhibited on the contralateral side, owing to a possible US-preexposure effect. Furthermore, we show that the antenna-US induces both unilateral and bilateral reinforcement processes, whereas the proboscis-US produces only bilateral effects. Based on these data, we propose a functional model of the role of each brain side in processing lateralized CSs and USs in olfactory learning in honeybees.
Sensory responsiveness and the effects of equal subjective rewards on tactile learning and memory of honeybees.
In tactile learning, sucrose is the unconditioned stimulus and reward, which is usually applied to the antenna to elicit proboscis extension and which the bee can drink when it is subsequently applied to the extended proboscis. The conditioned stimulus is a tactile object that the bee can scan with its antennae. In this paper we describe the quantitative relationships between gustatory antennal stimulation, gustatory proboscis stimulation, and tactile learning and memory. Bees are 10-fold more responsive to sucrose solutions when they are applied to the antenna compared to proboscis stimulation. During tactile conditioning, the sucrose solution applied to the proboscis determines the level of acquisition, whereas antennal input is of minor importance. Bees differing in their gustatory responsiveness measured at the antenna differ strongly in their tactile acquisition and memory. We demonstrate how these differences in tactile acquisition and memory can be greatly reduced by calculating equal subjective rewards, based on individual gustatory responsiveness.
Unwarping confocal microscopy images of bee brains by nonrigid registration to a magnetic resonance microscopy image.
Confocal microscopy (CM) is a powerful image acquisition technique that is well established in many biological applications. It provides 3-D acquisition with high spatial resolution and can acquire several different channels of complementary image information. Due to the specimen extraction and preparation process, however, the shapes of imaged objects may differ considerably from their in vivo appearance. Magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) is an evolving variant of magnetic resonance imaging, which achieves microscopic resolutions using a high magnetic field and strong magnetic gradients. Compared to CM imaging, MRM allows for in situ imaging and is virtually free of geometrical distortions. We propose to combine the advantages of both methods by unwarping CM images using a MRM reference image. Our method incorporates a sequence of image processing operators applied to the MRM image, followed by a two-stage intensity-based registration to compute a nonrigid coordinate transformation between the CM images and the MRM image. We present results obtained using CM images from the brains of 20 honey bees and a MRM image of an in situ bee brain.