Context cues eliminate retroactive interference effects in honeybees Apis mellifera.
Free flying honeybees were trained successively on two different tasks of landmark-based spatial memory. On both task 1 and task 2, the goal was at a consistent distance and direction from a cylindrical landmark. The colours of the landmarks differed for the two tasks. The target direction from the landmark in task 2 was opposite to that in task 1. The context in which task 2 took place was either the same as the task-1 context or different: being a short distance away, having different surrounding landmarks, and a different colour on the training table. After each task, the bees were tested on task 1 in the task-1 context (test 1 and test 2). If task 2 had the same context as task 1, the bees performed at chance on test 2. If task 2 had a different context, performance on test 2 was unaffected, remaining as good as on test 1. Contextual cues thus guide memory retrieval, and prevent any confusions about which response (that appropriate for task 1 or for task 2) to perform.
Cheng
Ken
K
Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia. ken@galliform.psy.mq.edu.au
D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D005426:Flight, Animal; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009517:New South Wales; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*