D3170: Unilateral multimodal sensory deprivation demonstrates ipsilateral effects and experience-dependent development of sensory pathways in Camponotus floridanus ants

Vision and olfaction are important sensory modalities for a variety of species. In many maturing organisms, the visual system develops as stimulation forges the creation of necessary synaptic connections. The development of the visual system can be dependent on the stimulation it receives during maturation periods. In invertebrates, serotonin contributes to long-term plasticity of synapses and in insects, serotonin has been shown to modulate the function of sensory pathways such as vision and olfaction. It has been shown that ants have high levels of neuroplasticity during development associated with behavioral changes due to temporal polyethism. Whether this plasticity extends to the maturation and alteration of the visual and olfactory systems remains unclear. The main goal of our study is to determine if Camponotus floridanus ants undergo experience-expectant or experience-dependent development of their visual and olfactory systems. We observed differences in serotoninergic neuron arborizations in ants deprived of light immediately post-eclosion, indicating an experience-dependent process. We performed and observed the effect of unilateral multimodal sensory deprivation on gene expression and neurotransmitter levels in the brain. Further demonstrating experience-dependency, we observed a decrease in serotonin protein and mRNA in sensory deprived brains. We further discuss the implications of experience-expectant and experience-dependent development of sensory systems as related to temporal polyethism. Additionally, we discuss the role of serotonin as related to eusociality.