Immediate early genes in social insects: a tool to identify brain regions involved in complex behaviors and molecular processes underlying neuroplasticity

Social insects show complex behaviors and master cognitive tasks. The underlying neuronal mechanisms, however, are in most cases only poorly understood due to challenges in monitoring brain activity in freely moving animals. Immediate early genes (IEGs) that get rapidly and transiently expressed fol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS 2019-02, Vol.76 (4), p.637-651
Main Authors: Sommerlandt, Frank M. J., Brockmann, Axel, Rössler, Wolfgang, Spaethe, Johannes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animals
Bees
Bees - genetics
Bees - physiology
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Brain
Brain - cytology
Brain - metabolism
Brain - physiology
Cell Biology
Cognitive ability
Cognitive tasks
Gene Expression
Genes
Genes, Immediate-Early - genetics
Genes, Insect - genetics
Immediate-early proteins
Insecta - genetics
Insecta - physiology
Insects
Life Sciences
Localization
Neuronal Plasticity - genetics
Neuronal Plasticity - physiology
Neurons - metabolism
Neurons - physiology
Neuroplasticity
Review
Social Behavior
Task complexity
Vertebrates
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Summary:Social insects show complex behaviors and master cognitive tasks. The underlying neuronal mechanisms, however, are in most cases only poorly understood due to challenges in monitoring brain activity in freely moving animals. Immediate early genes (IEGs) that get rapidly and transiently expressed following neuronal stimulation provide a powerful tool for detecting behavior-related neuronal activity in vertebrates. In social insects, like honey bees, and in insects in general, this approach is not yet routinely established, even though these genes are highly conserved. First studies revealed a vast potential of using IEGs as neuronal activity markers to analyze the localization, function, and plasticity of neuronal circuits underlying complex social behaviors. We summarize the current knowledge on IEGs in social insects and provide ideas for future research directions.
ISSN:1420-682X
1420-9071
DOI:10.1007/s00018-018-2948-z