ArticlePLoS computational biology2016
Using an Insect Mushroom Body Circuit to Encode Route Memory in Complex Natural Environments.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 206 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cerebellar microcircuits enable robust evidence-based decisions through cortico-cerebellar coupling.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
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- Updating an allocentric goal from lateralised egocentric visual memories.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The diversity of lepidopteran spatial orientation strategies - neuronal mechanisms and emerging challenges in a changing world.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Review
- Wavelet-based visual compass.PloS one · 2026Article
- A Vector-Based Computational Model of Multimodal Insect Learning Walks.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Heliconiini butterflies display flight behaviours reminiscent of orientation flights when using new floral sources.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Route-centric ant-inspired memories enable panoramic route-following in a car-like robot.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Ant visual route navigation: How the fine details of behaviour promote successful route performance and convergence.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- The impact of landscape complexity and composition on honey bee visual learning.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Lateralised memory networks may explain the use of higher-order visual features in navigating insects.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Path integration and optic flow in flying insects: a review of current evidence.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2025Review
- Sexual dimorphism and morphological integration in the orchid bee brain.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- I2Bot: an open-source tool for multi-modal and embodied simulation of insect navigation.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- Adaptive Route Memory Sequences for Insect-Inspired Visual Route Navigation.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Compensation to visual impairments and behavioral plasticity in navigating ants.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Article
- Neural circuits for goal-directed navigation across species.Trends in neurosciences · 2024Review
- Review
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Ants, like many other animals, use visual memory to follow extended routes through complex environments, but it is unknown how their small brains implement this capability. The mushroom body neuropils have been identified as a crucial memory circuit in the insect brain, but their function has mostly been explored for simple olfactory association tasks. We show that a spiking neural model of this circuit originally developed to describe fruitfly (Drosophila melanogaster) olfactory association, can also account for the ability of desert ants (Cataglyphis velox) to rapidly learn visual routes through complex natural environments. We further demonstrate that abstracting the key computational principles of this circuit, which include one-shot learning of sparse codes, enables the theoretical storage capacity of the ant mushroom body to be estimated at hundreds of independent images.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.