Acute
ethanol administration is associated with sedation and
analgesia as well as behavioral disinhibition and
memory loss but the mechanisms underlying these effects remain to be elucidated. During the past decade, insects have emerged as important model systems to understand the neural and genetic bases of alcohol effects. However, novel assays to assess
ethanol's effects on complex behaviors in social or isolated contexts are necessary. Here we used the honey bee as an especially relevant model system since bees are typically exposed to
ethanol in nature when collecting standing
nectar crop of flowers, and there is recent evidence for independent
biological significance of this exposure for social behavior. Bee's inhibitory control of the
sting extension response (SER) and a conditioned-place aversion assay were used to study
ethanol effects on
analgesia, behavioral disinhibition, and associative learning. Our findings indicate that although
ethanol, in a dose-dependent manner, increases SER thresholds (
analgesic effects), it disrupts the ability of honey bees to inhibit SER and to associate aversive stimuli with their environment. These results suggest that
ethanol's effects on
analgesia, behavioral disinhibition and associative learning are common across vertebrates and invertebrates. These results add to the use of honey bees as an
ethanol model to understand
ethanol's effects on complex, socially relevant behaviors.