Network simulations of interneuron circuits in the honeybee primary auditory center

Processing of airborne vibration signals in the auditory system is essential for honeybee communication through the waggle dance language. Properties of neurons in the honeybee primary auditory center suggest a circuitry of excitatory and inhibitory neurons encoding these communication signals. To test this assumption, we simulated this network and analyzed the predicted responses for different types of inputs. In particular, we investigated the effect of specific inhibitory connections in the network. The results indicate that the experimentally observed responses of certain interneuron types are compatible with an inhibitory network of vibration processing in the primary auditory center of the honeybee.