Honeybees (Apis mellifera) holding on to memories: response competition causes retroactive interference effects

Anim Cogn. 2006 Apr;9(2):141-50. doi: 10.1007/s10071-005-0012-5. Epub 2005 Dec 23.

Abstract

Five experiments on honeybees examined how the learning of a second task interferes with what was previously learned. Free flying bees were tested for landmark-based memory in variations on a paradigm of retroactive interference. Bees first learned Task 1, were tested on Task 1 (Test 1), then learned Task 2, and were tested again on Task 1 (Test 2). A 60-min delay (waiting in a box) before Test 2 caused no performance decrements. If the two tasks had conflicting response requirements, (e.g., target right of a green landmark in Task 1 and left of a blue landmark in Task 2), then a strong decrement on Test 2 was found (retroactive interference effect). When response competition was minimised during training or testing, however, the decrement on Test 2 was small or nonexistent. The results implicate response competition as a major contributor to the retroactive interference effect. The honeybee seems to hold on to memories; new memories do not wipe out old ones.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bees / physiology*
  • Choice Behavior / physiology
  • Cues*
  • Memory / physiology*
  • Perceptual Masking / physiology
  • Space Perception / physiology*
  • Spatial Behavior / physiology*