Abramson Charles I, d'Isa Raffaele, Wells Harrington
Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.
Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE), Division of Neuroscience (DNS), IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2025 May 21. doi: 10.1007/s00359-025-01743-8.
Ethanol has been consumed by humans since the dawn of civilization and, over the course of millennia, a wide variety of ethanol-rich drinks have been produced across cultures. Traditionally, it was believed that only humans voluntarily consume ethanol and become inebriated by it. However, a growing amount of evidence is showing that several non-human animal species spontaneously consume ethanol in nature. Among these, there is the honey bee (Apis mellifera), which can find ethanol in decaying fruits and in the fermented nectar of flowers. Importantly, honey bees represent a useful animal model of ethanol consumption as, like humans, they voluntarily consume ethanol, they show acute dose-dependent motor and postural signs of inebriation, they display ethanol-induced disruption of cognitive functions and social behavior, and they develop ethanol dependence. Moreover, they are small, easy to acquire and easy to maintain in the laboratory. Finally, we possess a vast database of information on their natural history, physiology, genetics and behavior, with their ethogram comprising a wide variety of basic to complex behaviors, including the capacity to self-administer large quantities of ethanol. The present article reviews what is currently known about the physiological and behavioral pharmacology of ethanol in honey bees. The topics covered include the effect of ethanol on gene expression, epigenetic changes of DNA, neuronal stress, posture, locomotion, learning (comprising classical and operant conditioning), communication, social feeding (trophallaxis), aggression and foraging-related decision-making in honey bees.
自文明诞生以来，人类就开始饮用乙醇，在数千年的时间里，不同文化背景下都酿造出了各种各样富含乙醇的饮品。传统观点认为，只有人类会主动摄入乙醇并因此醉酒。然而，越来越多的证据表明，一些非人类动物物种在自然环境中会自发摄入乙醇。其中包括蜜蜂（西方蜜蜂），它们能在腐烂的果实和花朵的发酵花蜜中找到乙醇。重要的是，蜜蜂是研究乙醇摄入的有用动物模型，因为与人类一样，它们会主动摄入乙醇，会表现出急性剂量依赖性的运动和姿势醉酒迹象，会出现乙醇诱导的认知功能和社会行为紊乱，还会产生乙醇依赖性。此外，它们体型小，易于获取且便于在实验室饲养。最后，我们拥有关于它们自然史、生理学、遗传学和行为的大量信息数据库，其行为图谱包含从各种基本到复杂的行为，包括自我摄入大量乙醇的能力。本文综述了目前关于蜜蜂乙醇生理和行为药理学的已知信息。涵盖的主题包括乙醇对基因表达的影响、DNA的表观遗传变化、神经元应激、姿势、运动、学习（包括经典条件反射和操作性条件反射）、通讯、社会进食（交哺现象）、攻击行为以及蜜蜂与觅食相关的决策。
