Plasticity in Ant Mushroom Bodies and its Relationship to Sensory Processing and Behavior

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The complex social lifestyles of ants are based on their ability to performdifferent tasks during an individual's lifetime (e.g. brood-care, guarding, foraging)and on learning and memory. These behaviors are controlled by the brain and depend on brain plasticity. The aim of the project is to study the causal relationship between the structure and function of the brain and the complex behavior that itcontrols. Particular brain regions and individual nerve cells that generate complex behavior will be analyzed in different ant species using diverse anatomical techniques. Morphological differences will be correlated with the behavioral performance of therespective species or guild member (e.g. forager versus nurse ant). The behavior and learning ability of each ant will be quantified instandardized tests (e.g. maze performance), the effect of brain lesions onthe ant's behavior will be assessed, and the electrical activity ofprominent nerve cells in the ant brain will be correlated with behavioralchanges. Together, these techniques will help to understand how a smallbrain with a limited number of nerve cells can yet generate the behavioralplasticity required for the survival of the colony. Ants have to cope with the same general problems and physical constraints as larger animals and humans. Their brains function by the sameprinciples and their nerve cells rely on the same cellular mechanisms andnetwork properties. Unlike vertebrates including humans, where populationsof thousands or millions of nerve cells control each small behavioralcomponent, in ants much fewer cells orchestrate the behavior. Hence theeffect of a single nerve cell's activity on behavioral changes is muchstronger and can be studied much more directly in ants than in largeranimals. This and their complex behavior and high learning capacities makesthe ants particularly well suited as model systems for research on brainplasticity. Studying the changes that occur in the brains of ants thatlearn a simple task may help us to better understand how our own brainsacquire new capabilities and optimize our behavioral output.