The honeybee Apis mellifera has emerged as a robust and influential model for the study of classical conditioning, thanks to the existence of a powerful Pavlovian conditioning protocol, the olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension response (PER). In 2011, the olfactory PER conditioning protocol celebrates 50 years since it was first introduced by Kimihisa Takeda in 1961. Here, we revie...

Both the incidence and severity of herpes zoster (HZ) or shingles increase markedly with increasing age in association with a decline in varicella zoster virus (VZV)-specific immunity. Considerable evidence shows that behavioral stressors, prevalent in older adults, correlate with impairments of cellular immunity. Moreover, the presence of depressive symptoms in older adults is associated with ...

Immunological memory in vertebrates, conferring lasting specific protection after an initial pathogen exposure, has implications for a broad spectrum of evolutionary, epidemiological, and medical phenomena . However, the existence of specificity in protection upon secondary pathogen exposure in invertebrates remains controversial . To separate this functional phenomenon from a particular mechan...

Innate immunity is the first line of defense against infectious microorganisms. The innate immune system relies on germ line-encoded pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) to recognize pathogen-derived substances (Janeway 1989). Activation of the innate immune system through these receptors leads to the expression of a vast array of antimicrobial effector molecules that attack microorganisms at m...

Detecting functional homology between invertebrate and vertebrate immunity is of interest in terms of understanding the dynamics and evolution of immune systems. Trans-generational effects on immunity are well known from vertebrates, but their existence in invertebrates remains controversial. Earlier work on invertebrates has interpreted increased offspring resistance to pathogens as trans-gene...

Abstract Eusocial insects can employ various behavioural and physiological disease defences to avoid, resist tolerate pathogen infections in their closely related packed colonies, termed social immunity. Recent studies have shown that several molecules serve insect immunity, including chemical odours, venoms, immune-related proteins, etc. However, whether how microRNAs (miRNAs), whose precursor...

Intense selection pressure from parasites on free-living animals has resulted in behavioral adaptations that help potential hosts avoid sources of infection. In primates, such “behavioral immunity” is expressed different contexts and may vary according to the ecology host, nature infectious agent, individual itself. this study, we investigated whether avoidance contaminated food was associated ...