The Honeybee, Apis mellifera has been studied extensively with respect to its sensory and neural capacities in navigation, communication, visual and olfactory learning and memory processing. The goal of our project is to integrate the entirety of information into a Virtual Atlas of the Honeybee Brain. This common spatial reference map will potentiate the representation of structural and functional data obtained in different experiments and from different individuals. Here we present the Virtual Honeybee Standard Brain Atlas as an interactive three-dimensional surface model with integrated neuron and neuronal tracts.

Refrence
Brandt, R., Rohlfing, T., Rybak, J., Krofczik, S., Maye, A., Westerhoff, M., Hege, H.-C., & Menzel, R. 2005. A three-dimensional average-shape atlas of the honeybee brain and its applications. Journal of Comparative Neurology 492(1): 1-19. Link

The Virtual Brain Project was formerly funded by the BMBF as a subproject of the Virtual Neuro Lab and is now continued in the Project DigiNeuro.

New projects include more sophisticated automated segmentation and reconstruction tools, and the development of an Statistical Shape Model of the Bee Brain are reported in a new publication:

Reference
Rybak J, Kuss A, Lamecker H, Zachow S, Hege H, Lienhard M, Singer J, Neubert K and Menzel R (2010) The digital bee brain: integrating and managing neurons in a common 3D reference system. Front. Syst. Neurosci. 4:30. Link