Data_Sheet_1_Transfer of Visual Learning Between a Virtual and a Real Environment in Honey Bees: The Role of Active Vision.PDF

To study visual learning in honey bees, we developed a virtual reality (VR) system in which the movements of a tethered bee walking stationary on a spherical treadmill update the visual panorama presented in front of it (closed-loop conditions), thus creating an experience of immersion within a virtual environment. In parallel, we developed a small Y-maze with interchangeable end-boxes, which allowed replacing repeatedly a freely walking bee into the starting point of the maze for repeated decision recording. Using conditioning and transfer experiments between the VR setup and the Y-maze, we studied the extent to which movement freedom and active vision are crucial for learning a simple color discrimination. Approximately 57% of the bees learned the visual discrimination in both conditions. Transfer from VR to the maze improved significantly the bees’ performances: 75% of bees having chosen the CS+ continued doing so and 100% of bees having chosen the CS− reverted their choice in favor of the CS+. In contrast, no improvement was seen for these two groups of bees during the reciprocal transfer from the Y-maze to VR. In this case, bees exhibited inconsistent choices in the VR setup. The asymmetric transfer between contexts indicates that the information learned in each environment may be different despite the similar learning success. Moreover, it shows that reducing the possibility of active vision and movement freedom in the passage from the maze to the VR impairs the expression of visual learning while increasing them in the reciprocal transfer improves it. Our results underline the active nature of visual processing in bees and allow discussing the developments required for immersive VR experiences in insects.

为探究蜜蜂的视觉学习，本研究团队开发了一套虚拟现实（VR）系统。该系统通过将一只固定在球形跑步机上静止行走的蜜蜂的运动与呈现在其前的视觉全景进行实时更新（闭环条件），从而营造一种沉浸于虚拟环境的体验。同时，我们还设计了一个小型Y型迷宫，配备可互换的终端盒子，允许蜜蜂在迷宫中自由行走后，反复回到迷宫的起点以记录其决策过程。通过在VR设置和Y型迷宫之间进行的条件学习和迁移实验，我们研究了运动自由度和主动视觉对于学习简单颜色辨别的重要性。大约57%的蜜蜂在两种条件下均学会了视觉辨别。从VR到迷宫的迁移显著提高了蜜蜂的表现：75%选择CS+的蜜蜂继续做出相同的选择，而100%选择CS-的蜜蜂则改变了选择，偏向于CS+。相反，在从Y型迷宫到VR的逆向迁移过程中，这两组蜜蜂的表现并未得到提升。在这种情况下，蜜蜂在VR设置中表现出不一致的选择。这种情境间的非对称迁移表明，尽管学习成功相似，但每个环境中学习到的信息可能存在差异。此外，它还显示出，在迷宫到VR的转换过程中减少主动视觉和运动自由度的可能性会损害视觉学习的表达，而增加它们则能改善视觉学习。我们的研究结果强调了蜜蜂视觉处理活动的本质，并允许我们讨论昆虫沉浸式VR体验所需的发展。