澳大利亞和美國(guó)科學(xué)家通過(guò)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，蜜蜂和人類在某種程度上存在很多相似——兩者都會(huì)受到可卡因毒品的誘惑,，并且大腦神經(jīng)都會(huì)受可卡因影響,，改變判斷能力,。
有關(guān)上訴結(jié)論的論文已于12月26日在《實(shí)驗(yàn)生物學(xué)雜志》在線發(fā)表,，發(fā)表這篇文章的作者安德魯表示：“這還是第一次在昆蟲(chóng)世界里發(fā)現(xiàn)對(duì)可卡因毒品有興趣,，并產(chǎn)生依賴的昆蟲(chóng)。”
據(jù)了解,，在使用蜜蜂進(jìn)行試驗(yàn)的過(guò)程中,，研究人員讓被試驗(yàn)的蜜蜂吸入微量的可卡因，之后將其放飛尋找食物,。通常蜜蜂在采集花粉過(guò)程中都會(huì)在空中 “跳舞”，以便通過(guò)這種方式和同類進(jìn)行溝通傳達(dá)找到食物的信號(hào),，并且表示被找到的食物味道不錯(cuò),。
科學(xué)家通過(guò)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，吸入可卡因的蜜蜂采集花粉時(shí)在空中跳舞的動(dòng)作比其它正常的蜜蜂更為瘋狂,；看其在空中搖擺的動(dòng)作和人類嗑藥后反應(yīng)極為相似,。
安德魯表示：“我們通過(guò)試驗(yàn)得出蜜蜂吸入可卡因后的影響和人類的幾乎一樣，因此我們得出結(jié)論：可卡因同樣對(duì)蜜蜂有影響,，會(huì)干擾他們的判斷能力,。我們還發(fā)現(xiàn)如果我們對(duì)吸入可卡因蜜蜂“突然完全停止使用毒品”,，那么這些蜜蜂在識(shí)別物體上存在很大困難，這點(diǎn)和人類突然停止使用毒品的結(jié)果也是一樣的,。 ”
安德魯希望通過(guò)對(duì)蜜蜂的研究,，找到人類對(duì)毒品上癮的“解藥”——一種能中和毒品的物質(zhì)。如果試驗(yàn)獲得成功的話,，這將使人類遠(yuǎn)離毒品的困擾,。
安德魯還說(shuō)：“如果我們能提煉出這種物質(zhì)，那么就能提供對(duì)吸毒上癮患者治療的新方案或減弱甚至阻止人類對(duì)毒品的依賴,。”（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Journal of Experimental Biology,，doi: 10.1242/jeb.025361 ，Andrew B. Barron,，Gene E. Robinson
Effects of cocaine on honey bee dance behaviour
Andrew B. Barron1,2,*, Ryszard Maleszka1, Paul G. Helliwell1 and Gene E. Robinson2
1 ARC Centre for Molecular Genetics of Development, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
2 Department of Entomology and Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
The role of cocaine as an addictive drug of abuse in human society is hard to reconcile with its ecological role as a natural insecticide and plant-protective compound, preventing herbivory of coca plants (Erythroxylum spp.). This paradox is often explained by proposing a fundamental difference in mammalian and invertebrate responses to cocaine, but here we show effects of cocaine on honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) that parallel human responses. Forager honey bees perform symbolic dances to advertise the location and value of floral resources to their nest mates. Treatment with a low dose of cocaine increased the likelihood and rate of bees dancing after foraging but did not otherwise increase locomotor activity. This is consistent with cocaine causing forager bees to overestimate the value of the floral resources they collected. Further, cessation of chronic cocaine treatment caused a withdrawal-like response. These similarities likely occur because in both insects and mammals the biogenic amine neuromodulator systems disrupted by cocaine perform similar roles as modulators of reward and motor systems. Given these analogous responses to cocaine in insects and mammals, we propose an alternative solution to the paradox of cocaine reinforcement. Ecologically, cocaine is an effective plant defence compound via disruption of herbivore motor control but, because the neurochemical systems targeted by cocaine also modulate reward processing, the reinforcing properties of cocaine occur as a `side effect'.
