%0 Journal Article
%T Visual and olfactory associative learning in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto
%A Nora Chilaka
%A Elisabeth Perkins
%A Fr¨¦d¨¦ric Tripet
%J Malaria Journal
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1475-2875-11-27
%X A simple behavioural assays was developed to study visual and olfactory associative learning in Anopheles gambiae, the main vector of malaria in Africa. Two contrasted membrane qualities or levels of blood palatability were used as reinforcing stimuli for bi-directional conditioning during blood feeding.Under such experimental conditions An. gambiae females learned very rapidly to associate visual (chequered and white patterns) and olfactory cues (presence and absence of cheese or Citronella smell) with the reinforcing stimuli (bloodmeal quality) and remembered the association for up to three days. Associative learning significantly increased with the strength of the conditioning stimuli used. Importantly, learning sometimes occurred faster when a positive reinforcing stimulus (palatable blood) was associated with an innately preferred cue (such as a darker visual pattern). However, the use of too attractive a cue (e.g. Shropshire cheese smell) was counter-productive and decreased learning success.The results address an important knowledge gap in mosquito ecology and emphasize the role of associative memory for An. gambiae's host finding and blood-feeding behaviour with important potential implications for vector control.As in many animals, memory and learning are fundamental aspects of the ecology of insect species. Visual place learning is critical for foraging and homing in most insects [1-4] and is most conspicuously demonstrated in the social insects [5,6]. Olfactory learning is equally important as it enables insects to optimize foraging and other activities in their local environment and has also been reported in several insect species [7-9]. Understanding learning and memory bears particular importance for mosquitoes, sandflies, kissing bugs and other insects that transmit human diseases because their behaviour, particularly in relation to host finding and bloodmeal acquisition, may have critical implication for their vectorial capacity and thus the epidemio
%U http://www.malariajournal.com/content/11/1/27