scholarly journals Ongoing habenular activity is driven by forebrain networks and modulated by olfactory stimuli

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewelina Magdalena Bartoszek ◽  
Suresh Kumar Jetti ◽  
Khac Thanh Phong Chau ◽  
Emre Yaksi
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Olfactory System ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Ongoing Activity ◽  
Limbic Forebrain ◽  
Olfactory Information ◽  
Internal States ◽  
Olfactory Stimuli ◽  
Brain States

SUMMARYOngoing neural activity, which represents internal brain states, is constantly modulated by the sensory information that is generated by the environment. In this study, we show that the habenular circuits act as a major brain hub integrating the structured ongoing activity of the limbic forebrain circuitry and the olfactory information. We demonstrate that ancestral homologs of amygdala and hippocampus in zebrafish forebrain are the major drivers of ongoing habenular activity. We also reveal that odor stimuli can modulate the activity of specific habenular neurons that are driven by this forebrain circuitry. Our results highlight a major role for the olfactory system in regulating the ongoing activity of the habenula and the forebrain, thereby altering brain’s internal states.

scholarly journals The influence of stimulus duration on olfactory identity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen Kuruppath ◽  
Leonardo Belluscio
Keyword(s):  
Blue Light ◽  
Auditory System ◽  
Stimulus Duration ◽  
Olfactory System ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Olfactory Bulbs ◽  
Olfactory Information

AbstractDuration of a stimulus plays an important role in coding of sensory information. The role of stimulus duration is extensively studied in tactile, visual and auditory system. In the olfactory system, how the stimulus duration influences the identity of an olfactory information is not well understood. To test this, we activated the olfactory bulbs with blue light in mice expressing channelrhodopsin and behaviorally assessed the relevance of stimulus duration on olfactory identity. Our behavior data demonstrate that stimulus duration changes the olfactory information and the associated behavior.

scholarly journals Awake perception is associated with dedicated neuronal assemblies in cerebral cortex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Filipchuk ◽  
Alain Destexhe ◽  
Brice Bathellier
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Sensory Perception ◽  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
State Change ◽  
Ongoing Activity ◽  
Sensory Inputs ◽  
Neuronal Assemblies ◽  
Sensory Responses

AbstractNeural activity in sensory cortex combines stimulus responses and ongoing activity, but it remains unclear whether they reflect the same underlying dynamics or separate processes. Here we show that during wakefulness, the neuronal assemblies evoked by sounds in the auditory cortex and thalamus are specific to the stimulus and distinct from the assemblies observed in ongoing activity. In contrast, during anesthesia, evoked assemblies are indistinguishable from ongoing assemblies in cortex, while they remain distinct in the thalamus. A strong remapping of sensory responses accompanies this dynamical state change produced by anesthesia. Together, these results show that the awake cortex engages dedicated neuronal assemblies in response to sensory inputs, which we suggest is a network correlate of sensory perception.One-Sentence SummarySensory responses in the awake cortex engage specific neuronal assemblies that disappear under anesthesia.

scholarly journals Recurrent circuitry is required to stabilize piriform cortex odor representations across brain states

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin A Bolding ◽  
Shivathmihai Nagappan ◽  
Bao-Xia Han ◽  
Fan Wang ◽  
Kevin M Franks
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Piriform Cortex ◽  
Theoretical Studies ◽  
Pattern Completion ◽  
Attractor Networks ◽  
Attractor Dynamics ◽  
Brain States ◽  
Associative Function

Pattern completion, or the ability to retrieve stable neural activity patterns from noisy or partial cues, is a fundamental feature of memory. Theoretical studies indicate that recurrently connected auto-associative or discrete attractor networks can perform this process. Although pattern completion and attractor dynamics have been observed in various recurrent neural circuits, the role recurrent circuitry plays in implementing these processes remains unclear. In recordings from head-fixed mice, we found that odor responses in olfactory bulb degrade under ketamine/xylazine anesthesia while responses immediately downstream, in piriform cortex, remain robust. Recurrent connections are required to stabilize cortical odor representations across states. Moreover, piriform odor representations exhibit attractor dynamics, both within and across trials, and these are also abolished when recurrent circuitry is eliminated. Here, we present converging evidence that recurrently-connected piriform populations stabilize sensory representations in response to degraded inputs, consistent with an auto-associative function for piriform cortex supported by recurrent circuitry.

scholarly journals Olfaction Modulates Early Neural Responses to Matching Visual Objects

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 832-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda K. Robinson ◽  
Judith Reinhard ◽  
Jason B. Mattingley
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Visual Objects ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Early Visual Processing ◽  
Considerable Research ◽  
Matter Concentration

Sensory information is initially registered within anatomically and functionally segregated brain networks but is also integrated across modalities in higher cortical areas. Although considerable research has focused on uncovering the neural correlates of multisensory integration for the modalities of vision, audition, and touch, much less attention has been devoted to understanding interactions between vision and olfaction in humans. In this study, we asked how odors affect neural activity evoked by images of familiar visual objects associated with characteristic smells. We employed scalp-recorded EEG to measure visual ERPs evoked by briefly presented pictures of familiar objects, such as an orange, mint leaves, or a rose. During presentation of each visual stimulus, participants inhaled either a matching odor, a nonmatching odor, or plain air. The N1 component of the visual ERP was significantly enhanced for matching odors in women, but not in men. This is consistent with evidence that women are superior in detecting, discriminating, and identifying odors and that they have a higher gray matter concentration in olfactory areas of the OFC. We conclude that early visual processing is influenced by olfactory cues because of associations between odors and the objects that emit them, and that these associations are stronger in women than in men.

Olfactory epithelium ontogenesis and function in postembryonic North American Bullfrog (Rana (Lithobates) catesbeiana) tadpoles

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 367-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. Heerema ◽  
S.J. Bogart ◽  
C.C. Helbing ◽  
G.G. Pyle
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory Epithelium ◽  
North American ◽  
Olfactory System ◽  
Postembryonic Development ◽  
Acid Mixture ◽  
Epithelial Surface ◽  
American Bullfrog ◽  
Olfactory Stimuli ◽  
And Function ◽  
Lithobates Catesbeiana

During metamorphosis, the olfactory system remodelling in anuran tadpoles — to transition from detecting waterborne odorants to volatile odorants as frogs — is extensive. How the olfactory system transitions from the larval to frog form is poorly understood, particularly in species that become (semi-)terrestrial. We investigated the ontogeny and function of the olfactory epithelium of North American Bullfrog (Rana (Lithobates) catesbeiana Shaw, 1802) tadpoles at various stages of postembryonic development. Changes in sensory components observable at the epithelial surface were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Functionality of the developing epithelium was tested using a neurophysiological technique (electro-olfactography (EOG)), and behaviourally, using a choice maze to assess tadpole response to olfactory stimuli (algae extract, amino acids). The youngest (premetamorphic) tadpoles responded behaviourally to an amino acid mixture despite having underdeveloped olfactory structures (cilia, olfactory knobs) and no EOG response. The consistent appearance of olfactory structures in older (prometamorphic) tadpoles coincided with reliably obtaining EOG responses to olfactory stimuli. However, as tadpoles aged further, and despite indistinguishable differences in sensory components, behavioural- and EOG-based olfactory responses were drastically reduced, most strongly near metamorphic climax. This work demonstrates a more complex relationship between structure and function of the olfactory system during tadpole life history than originally thought.

scholarly journals Odorant Receptors Signaling Instructs the Development and Plasticity of the Glomerular Map

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Valle-Leija
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Olfactory System ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Odorant Receptors ◽  
Great Opportunity ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Olfactory Information ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
And Function

The olfactory system provides a great opportunity to explore the mechanisms that underlie the formation and function of neural circuits because of the simplicity of its structure. Olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) located in the peripheral olfactory epithelium (OE) take part in the initial formation and function of glomeruli in the olfactory bulb (OB) inside the central nervous system. Glomeruli are key in the process of transduction of olfactory information, as they constitute a map in the OB that sorts the different types of odorant inputs. This odorant categorization allows proper olfactory perception, and it is achieved through the anatomical organization and function of the different glomerular circuits. Once formed, glomeruli keep the capacity to undergo diverse plasticity processes, which is unique among the different neural circuits of the central nervous system. In this context, through the expression and function of the odorant receptors (ORs), OSNs perform two of the most important roles in the olfactory system: transducing odorant information to the nervous system and initiating the development of the glomerular map to organize olfactory information. This review addresses essential information that has emerged in recent years about the molecular basis of these processes.

scholarly journals Habituation as a neural algorithm for online odor discrimination

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (22) ◽  
pp. 12402-12410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Shen ◽  
Sanjoy Dasgupta ◽  
Saket Navlakha
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Olfactory System ◽  
Simple Algorithm ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Redundant Information ◽  
Biological Mechanism ◽  
Sensory Physiology ◽  
Odor Perception ◽  
Odor Mixtures

Habituation is a form of simple memory that suppresses neural activity in response to repeated, neutral stimuli. This process is critical in helping organisms guide attention toward the most salient and novel features in the environment. Here, we follow known circuit mechanisms in the fruit fly olfactory system to derive a simple algorithm for habituation. We show, both empirically and analytically, that this algorithm is able to filter out redundant information, enhance discrimination between odors that share a similar background, and improve detection of novel components in odor mixtures. Overall, we propose an algorithmic perspective on the biological mechanism of habituation and use this perspective to understand how sensory physiology can affect odor perception. Our framework may also help toward understanding the effects of habituation in other more sophisticated neural systems.

Odours Grab His Hand but Not Hers

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p6286 ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 1886-1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Tubaldi ◽  
Caterina Ansuini ◽  
Roberto Tirindelli ◽  
Umberto Castiello
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Discrimination Ability ◽  
Evolutionary Theories ◽  
Olfactory Information ◽  
Olfactory Stimuli ◽  
Olfactory Abilities ◽  
Odour Perception ◽  
Human Odour

Gender is important for the determination of olfactory abilities. Previous reports on gender differences in human odour perception claimed that the sensitivity and discrimination ability of females for odours is superior to that of males. Evolutionary theories, however, open up the possibility of an interesting dissociation between females and males in terms of odour processing: there is an advantage for women for the perceptual aspects of olfactory stimuli and an advantage for men when translating perceptual olfactory information into action. In line with this hypothesis our observations suggest that encoding odours has the ability to guide the movement of males but not that of females.

Neuronal correlates of impaired habituation in response to repeated trigemino-nociceptive but not to olfactory input in migraineurs: An fMRI study

Cephalalgia ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 256-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Stankewitz ◽  
E Schulz ◽  
A May
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory System ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Specific Response ◽  
Similar Time ◽  
Pain Ratings ◽  
Olfactory Stimuli

Introduction: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we aimed to explore the habituation behaviour to trigemino-nociceptive as well as olfactory stimuli in migraine patients. We exclusively focussed on intrasessional behavioural rating patterns and the related blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal changes. Findings: We observed that groups significantly differ in the time course of pain intensity ratings during the stimulation session: whereas interictal migraineurs sensitized (increasing pain ratings), control subjects habituated (decreasing pain ratings). Pain ratings of ictal patients remained unchanged. This behaviour is accompanied by a similar time course of neuronal activity in the bilateral anterior insula, in the middle cingulate cortex and in the thalamus. In these areas, the brain activity increased in migraineurs but decreased in the control group during the session. In contrast to these findings, the rating patterns for the olfactory stimuli (rose odour) did not differ between patients and controls and a gradual decrease of perceived stimulus intensity was found in all three groups. This stimulus specific response may occur because the olfactory system is the only sensory system not passing the thalamus. Conclusion: Our data suggest that impaired habituation in functional brain systems in migraine is fundamental only to specific modalities including the trigemino-nociceptive, but, at least, excluding the olfactory system. Our findings further suggest that there is no single neuronal modulator responsible for the altered rating pattern in migraineurs.

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