A multimodal approach for tracing lateralization along the olfactory pathway in the honeybee through electrophysiological recordings, morpho-functional imaging, and behavioural studies

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent multimodal research on olfactory lateralization in honeybees, combining electrophysiology, imaging, and behavioral studies to uncover structural and functional asymmetries along their olfactory pathway.

Contribution

It integrates multiple methodologies to comprehensively characterize structural and functional asymmetries in honeybee olfactory processing, providing new insights into lateralization mechanisms.

Findings

Asymmetries in sensilla count on antennae

Differences in antennal lobe responses to odors

Behavioral asymmetries in olfactory memory recall

Abstract

Recent studies have revealed asymmetries between the left and right sides of the brain in invertebrate species. Here we present a review of a series of recent studies from our labs, aimed at tracing asymmetries at different stages along the honeybee's (Apis mellifera) olfactory pathway. These include estimates of the number of sensilla present on the two antennae, obtained by scanning electron microscopy, as well as electroantennography recordings of the left and right antennal responses to odorants. We describe investigative studies of the antennal lobes, where multi-photon microscopy is used to search for possible morphological asymmetries between the two brain sides. Moreover, we report on recently published results obtained by two-photon calcium imaging for functional mapping of the antennal lobe aimed at comparing patterns of activity evoked by different odours. Finally, possible links to the results of behavioural tests, measuring asymmetries in single-sided olfactory memory recall, are discussed.