Phenotypic transformation affects associative learning in the desert locust.

摘要: In desert locusts, increased population densities drive phenotypic transformation from the solitarious to gregarious phase within a generation [1-4]. Here we show that when presented with odor-food associations, two extreme phases differ in aversive but not appetitive associative learning, locusts showing conditioned aversion more quickly than locusts. The acquisition of new learned aversions was blocked entirely acutely crowded (transiens) whereas learning and prior associations were unaffected. These differences support phase-specific feeding strategies. Associative training hyoscyamine, plant alkaloid found locusts' habitat [5, 6], elicits phase-dependent odor preference: avoid an associated do not. Remarkably, are then reconditioned odor-hyoscyamine pairing as transiens, specific blockade enables them override their memory one. Under fierce food competition, occurs during crowding field, this provides neuroecological mechanism enabling reassign value they previously avoid.