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Published: 18 November 1999

A spoonful of sugar helps the memory go down

Rachel Smyly

Nature (1999)Cite this article

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Like Pavlov's dogs, bees can be 'conditioned' to learn that a particular event means feeding time. However, instead of a bell bringing about salivation, a honeybee can be conditioned so that a particular smell causes it to extend its proboscis. New results hint at what happens in the bee's brain to cause this behaviour - and may provide clues as to how we learn, too.

André Fiala and colleagues, of the University of Berlin, Germany, have been using a cunning new technique to delve into the molecular mechanisms behind this kind of learning. They wanted to find out which proteins - chemicals in the body that can, among other things, allow cells to communicate with one another - were needed for their bees to learn that the smell of carnation oil always preceded a delicious dose of sugar solution.

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