Learning how to escape from an alarm pheromone in the kissing bug Triatoma infestans

PALOTTINI F.; MINOLI, S.A.; MANRIQUE, G.

Sao Paulo

Congreso; XXXI Encontro Annual de Etologia. IV Simposio Latinoamericano de Etología.; 2013

Learning how to escape from an alarm pheromone in the kissing bug Triatoma infestans FLORENCIA PALOTTINI**, SEBASTIÁN A. MINOLI, GABRIEL MANRIQUE Laboratorio de Fisiología de Insectos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, IBBEA, CONICET-UBA, Universidad de Buenos Aires. florpal@bg.fcen.uba.ar Disturbed adults of Triatoma infestans release an alarm pheromone that elicits an escape response in larvae. The main component of this pheromone, the isobutyric acid (IsoAc), has already shown to promote an escape response. However, little is known about the modulation of this behaviour by cognitive processes. We present here evidences of the cognitive capacities of triatomines under different conditioning paradigms. In non-associative experiments, we pre-exposed larvae to IsoAc and tested their escape response to the same compound using an olfactometer. Under a classical conditioning context, we coupled the IsoAc with a negative reinforcement and then tested their escape response. Under an operant paradigm, larvae were trained to avoid a certain zone of an experimental arena associated with IsoAc. We found that: 1-the duration of pre-exposure to IsoAc plays a main role in determining the type of non-associative learning expressed: short pre-exposures elicit sensitization while longer pre-exposure times trigger a switch from repellence to attractiveness; 2-an association between IsoAc and an aversive stimulus can be formed under a classical conditioning paradigm; 3-an association between IsoAc and a self-action can be generated under an operant conditioning. Results show that IsoAc attains multiple roles in the cognitive modulation of the escape response. Financial support: ANPCyT (PICT PIDRI 0029-2009) CONICET and Universidad de Buenos Aires. Área de trabalho: Cogniçao e percepçao