However, some ants are expressively visual animals that catch prey using their keen sight, or they navigate by visual landmarks or analyze the polarization pattern of the skylight. In a current project I will try to find out how the brains differ in ants that show such obviously different behaviors. Visual ants have larger eyes and their brains comprise larger optic lobes , but this increased amount of sensory information needs to be further processed to give rise to the appropriate behavior. The mushroom bodies are the prime candidates for the generation and control of such complex behavior. These central brain structures process multimodal information and are supposedly involved in orientation, movement control and learning and memory in different insects.
Mushroom bodies are also a major olfactory processing center, and they are very large in ants.
Mushroom body changes associated with such transitions are examined in deprivation experiments in which the importance of sensory experience for the development of the brain and of normal behavior is accessed. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.