We find that the one-site assessment process has two equilibrium states: a disinterested equilibrium (DE) in which the bees show no interest in the site and an interested equilibrium (IE) in which bees show interest. In analogy with epidemic models, we define basic and absolute recruitment numbers (R(0) and B(0)) as measures of the swarm’s sensitivity to dancing by a single bee. If R(0) is less than one then

the DE is locally stable, and if B(0) is less than buy Nepicastat one then it is globally stable. If R(0) is greater than one then the DE is unstable and the IE is stable under realistic conditions. In addition, there exists a critical site quality threshold Q* above which the site can attract some interest (at equilibrium) and below which it cannot. We also find the existence of a second critical site quality threshold Q** above which the site can attract a quorum (at equilibrium) and below which it cannot. The two-site discrimination process, in which we examine a swarm’s ability to simultaneously consider two sites differing in both site quality and discovery time, has a stable DE if and only if both sites’ individual basic recruitment numbers are less than one. Numerical experiments are

performed to study the influences of site quality on quorum time and the outcome of competition between a lower quality site discovered Stattic ic50 first and a higher quality site discovered second. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“The basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) receives both noradrenergic and dopaminergic projections. These projections are thought to be important for modulation of amygdala neural circuits. In BLA pyramidal neurons, noradrenaline (NA) is known to facilitate gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) through excitation of interneurons. Dopamine (DA) also is known to facilitate GABAergic sIPSCs in pyramidal neurons of the amygdala region including the BLA. It is unclear which neurotransmitter, NA or DA, is predominant in facilitating sIPSC in the BLA. Whether NA and DA facilitate sIPSC in different or the same pyramidal neurons also remains unknown. Herein, we employed the patch clamp

recording technique on BLA pyramidal neurons in mouse brain slices, and compared the facilitating actions of NA and DA on sIPSCs. First NA and then DA, or first DA and then NA, were applied to a slice. MEK162 NA enhanced sIPSC frequency in the majority (80-90%) of pyramidal neurons tested, whereas DA enhanced sIPSC frequency in relatively few neurons (approximately 30%). Neurons responding to NA alone and DA alone accounted, respectively, for 54.3% and 2.9% of the pyramidal neurons tested (11.4% of neurons responded to neither NA nor DA). Pyramidal neurons in which NA and DA both facilitated sIPSCs accounted for 31.4% of neurons tested. These results suggest that NA facilitates GABAergic sIPSCs in a larger proportion of mouse BLA pyramidal neurons than DA. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.