Processing of Visual Information in the Honeybee Brain

Knowledge about processing of visual information in the bee brain mainly comes from investigations on higher order interneurons. The first set of interneurons, the monopolar cells of the lamina, is almost unexplored. The second stage, the medulla, is involved in coding spatial and color contrast, and in detecting directionally unselective movement. In the third optic neuropile, the lobula, the direction of movement of a stimulus is coded. This information is transferred to descending interneurons in the ventro-lateral protocerebrum. Some widefield extrinsic medulla neurons display color coding properties with an opponent reaction to green and UV-light stimuli.