Data_Sheet_2_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。在该系统中，一只被固定在球形跑步机上的蜜蜂行走动作实时更新其面前呈现的视觉全景（闭环条件），从而创造出沉浸于虚拟环境中的体验。与此同时，我们还设计了一个小型Y型迷宫，并配备了可互换的终端盒子，这使得我们可以将自由行走的蜜蜂反复送回迷宫的起点，以记录其反复的决策过程。通过在VR设置和Y型迷宫之间进行的条件训练和迁移实验，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。在大约57%的蜜蜂中，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+的蜜蜂继续维持这一选择，而所有选择CS−的蜜蜂均反转了其选择，偏向于CS+。相反，在从Y型迷宫到VR的相互迁移中，这两组蜜蜂的表现未见改善。在这种情况下，蜜蜂在VR设置中表现出不一致的选择。这种环境之间的不对称迁移表明，尽管学习成功相似，但每个环境中学习的知识可能存在差异。此外，它还显示出，在迷宫到VR的迁移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，而在反向迁移中增加这些因素则能改善学习效果。我们的研究结果凸显了蜜蜂视觉处理的主动性，并允许我们讨论昆虫沉浸式VR体验所需的发展方向。