Author:
Benard Julie,Giurfa Martin
Abstract
We asked whether honeybees, Apis mellifera, could solve a
transitive inference problem. Individual free-flying bees were conditioned
with four overlapping premise pairs of five visual patterns in a multiple
discrimination task (A+ vs. B-, B+ vs. C-, C+ vs. D-, D+ vs. E-, where + and -
indicate sucrose reward or absence of it, respectively). They were then tested
with the nonadjacent pairs A vs. E and B vs. D. Preference of B to D is
consistent with the use of the implicit hierarchy A > B > C > D >
E. Equal choice of B and D supports choice based on the associative strength
of the stimuli. The bees' choice was determined by their memory constraints:
experience with the last premise pair (D+ vs. E-) predominated. In the tests,
bees preferred A to E and chose equally B and D. An analysis of the
performance in terms of a reward/penalty ratio showed that B had a higher
associative strength than D. Thus, bees do not establish transitive inferences
but, rather, guide their choices by the joint action of a recency effect and
the associative strength of the stimuli. The former supports choice of D,
whereas the latter supports choice of B, thus determining equal choice of B
and D in the tests.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Subject
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience,Cognitive Neuroscience,Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Cited by
36 articles.
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