Mushroom bodies of the honeybee brain show cell population-specific plasticity in expression of amine-receptor genes.

Dopamine and octopamine released in the mushroom bodies of the insect brain play a critical role in the formation of aversive and appetitive memories, respectively. As recent evidence suggests a complex relationship between the effects of these two amines on the output of mushroom body circuits, we compared the expression of dopamine- and octopamine-receptor genes in three major subpopulations of mushroom body intrinsic neurons (Kenyon cells). Using the brain of the honeybee, Apis mellifera, we found that expression of amine-receptor genes differs markedly across Kenyon cell subpopulations. We found, in addition, that levels of expression of these genes change dramatically during the lifetime of the bee and that shifts in expression are cell population-specific. Differential expression of amine-receptor genes in mushroom body neurons and the plasticity that exists at this level are features largely ignored in current models of mushroom body function. However, our results are consistent with the growing body of evidence that short- and long-term olfactory memories form in different regions of the mushroom bodies of the brain and that there is functional compartmentalization of the modulatory inputs to this multifunctional brain center.