title: Asymmetric neural coding revealed by in vivo calcium imaging in the honey bee brain.
abstract: Left-right asymmetries are common properties of nervous systems. Although lateralized sensory processing has been well studied, information is lacking about how asymmetries are represented at the level of neural coding. Using in vivo functional imaging, we identified a population-level left-right asymmetry in the honey bee's primary olfactory centre, the antennal lobe (AL). When both antennae were stimulated via a frontal odour source, the inter-odour distances between neural response patterns were higher in the right than in the left AL. Behavioural data correlated with the brain imaging results: bees with only their right antenna were better in discriminating a target odour in a cross-adaptation paradigm. We hypothesize that the differences in neural odour representations in the two brain sides serve to increase coding capacity by parallel processing.
authors: CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Trento, Italy.
authors: Elisa
authors: E
authors: Rigosi
authors: CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy Department of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, 38123 Trento, Italy.
authors: Albrecht
authors: A
authors: Haase
authors: Department of Biology, Neurobiology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.
authors: Lisa
authors: L
authors: Rath
authors: Research and Innovation Center, Fondazione Edmund Mach, via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele a/A, Trento, Italy.
authors: Gianfranco
authors: G
authors: Anfora
authors: CIMeC, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
authors: Giorgio
authors: G
authors: Vallortigara
authors: Department of Biology, Neurobiology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany paul.szyszka@uni-konstanz.de.
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Szyszka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057506:Arthropod Antennae / Q000502:physiology; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D009812:Odorants; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium
keywords: brain asymmetry; calcium imaging; honey bee; lateralization; odour coding; odour discrimination