scholarly journals Differences in olfactory bulb mitral cell spiking with ortho- and retronasal stimulation revealed by data-driven models

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. e1009169
Author(s):  
Michelle F. Craft ◽  
Andrea K. Barreiro ◽  
Shree Hari Gautam ◽  
Woodrow L. Shew ◽  
Cheng Ly

The majority of olfaction studies focus on orthonasal stimulation where odors enter via the front nasal cavity, while retronasal olfaction, where odors enter the rear of the nasal cavity during feeding, is understudied. The coding of retronasal odors via coordinated spiking of neurons in the olfactory bulb (OB) is largely unknown despite evidence that higher level processing is different than orthonasal. To this end, we use multi-electrode array in vivo recordings of rat OB mitral cells (MC) in response to a food odor with both modes of stimulation, and find significant differences in evoked firing rates and spike count covariances (i.e., noise correlations). Differences in spiking activity often have implications for sensory coding, thus we develop a single-compartment biophysical OB model that is able to reproduce key properties of important OB cell types. Prior experiments in olfactory receptor neurons (ORN) showed retro stimulation yields slower and spatially smaller ORN inputs than with ortho, yet whether this is consequential for OB activity remains unknown. Indeed with these specifications for ORN inputs, our OB model captures the salient trends in our OB data. We also analyze how first and second order ORN input statistics dynamically transfer to MC spiking statistics with a phenomenological linear-nonlinear filter model, and find that retro inputs result in larger linear filters than ortho inputs. Finally, our models show that the temporal profile of ORN is crucial for capturing our data and is thus a distinguishing feature between ortho and retro stimulation, even at the OB. Using data-driven modeling, we detail how ORN inputs result in differences in OB dynamics and MC spiking statistics. These differences may ultimately shape how ortho and retro odors are coded.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Frances Craft ◽  
Andrea K. Barreiro ◽  
Shree Hari Gautam ◽  
Woodrow L. Shew ◽  
Cheng Ly

The majority of olfaction studies focus on orthonasal stimulation where odors enter via the front nasal cavity, while retronasal olfaction , where odors enter the rear of the nasal cavity during feeding, is understudied. The processing of retronasal odors via coordinated spiking of neurons in the olfactory bulb ( OB ) is largely unknown. To this end, we use multi -electrode array in vivo recordings of rat OB mitral cells ( MC ) in response to a food odor with both modes of stimulation, and find significant differences in evoked firing rates and spike count covariances (i.e., noise correlations). To better understand these differences, we develop a single-compartment biophysical OB model that is able to reproduce key properties of important OB cell types. Prior experiments in olfactory receptor neurons ( ORN ) showed retro stimulation yields slower and spatially smaller ORN inputs than with ortho , yet whether this is consequential for OB activity remains unknown. Indeed with these specifications for ORN inputs, our OB model captures the trends in our OB data. We also analyze how first and second order ORN input statistics dynamically transfer to MC spiking statistics with a phenomenological linear-nonlinear filter model, and find that retro inputs result in larger temporal filters than ortho inputs. Finally, our models show that the temporal profile of ORN is crucial for capturing our data and is thus a distinguishing feature between ortho and retro stimulation, even at the OB. Using data-driven modeling, we detail how ORN inputs result in differences in OB dynamics and MC spiking statistics. These differences may ultimately shape how ortho and retro odors are coded.


eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Roland ◽  
Rebecca Jordan ◽  
Dara L Sosulski ◽  
Assunta Diodato ◽  
Izumi Fukunaga ◽  
...  

Perturbations in neural circuits can provide mechanistic understanding of the neural correlates of behavior. In M71 transgenic mice with a “monoclonal nose”, glomerular input patterns in the olfactory bulb are massively perturbed and olfactory behaviors are altered. To gain insights into how olfactory circuits can process such degraded inputs we characterized odor-evoked responses of olfactory bulb mitral cells and interneurons. Surprisingly, calcium imaging experiments reveal that mitral cell responses in M71 transgenic mice are largely normal, highlighting a remarkable capacity of olfactory circuits to normalize sensory input. In vivo whole cell recordings suggest that feedforward inhibition from olfactory bulb periglomerular cells can mediate this signal normalization. Together, our results identify inhibitory circuits in the olfactory bulb as a mechanistic basis for many of the behavioral phenotypes of mice with a “monoclonal nose” and highlight how substantially degraded odor input can be transformed to yield meaningful olfactory bulb output.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelly Jones ◽  
Joel Zylberberg ◽  
Nathan Schoppa

A common feature of the primary processing structures of sensory systems is the presence of parallel output “channels” that convey different information about a stimulus. In the mammalian olfactory bulb, this is reflected in the mitral cells (MCs) and tufted cells (TCs) that have differing sensitivities to odors, with TCs being more sensitive than MCs. In this study, we examined potential mechanisms underlying the different responses of MCs vs. TCs. For TCs, we focused on superficial TCs (sTCs), which are a population of output TCs that reside in the superficial-most portion of the external plexiform layer, along with external tufted cells (eTCs), which are glutamatergic interneurons in the glomerular layer. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in mouse bulb slices, we first measured excitatory currents in MCs, sTCs, and eTCs following olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) stimulation, separating the responses into a fast, monosynaptic component reflecting direct inputs from OSNs and a prolonged component partially reflecting eTC-mediated feedforward excitation. Responses were measured to a wide range of OSN stimulation intensities, simulating the different levels of OSN activity that would be expected to be produced by varying odor concentrations in vivo. Over a range of stimulation intensities, we found that the monosynaptic current varied significantly between the cell types, in the order of eTC > sTC > MC. The prolonged component was smaller in sTCs vs. both MCs and eTCs. sTCs also had much higher whole-cell input resistances than MCs, reflecting their smaller size and greater membrane resistivity. To evaluate how these different electrophysiological aspects contributed to spiking of the output MCs and sTCs, we used computational modeling. By exchanging the different cell properties in our modeled MCs and sTCs, we could evaluate each property's contribution to spiking differences between these cell types. This analysis suggested that the higher sensitivity of spiking in sTCs vs. MCs reflected both their larger monosynaptic OSN signal as well as their higher input resistance, while their smaller prolonged currents had a modest opposing effect. Taken together, our results indicate that both synaptic and intrinsic cellular features contribute to the production of parallel output channels in the olfactory bulb.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn D Burton ◽  
Nathan N Urban

Neural synchrony generates fast network oscillations throughout the brain, including the main olfactory bulb (MOB), the first processing station of the olfactory system. Identifying the mechanisms synchronizing neurons in the MOB will be key to understanding how network oscillations support the coding of a high-dimensional sensory space. Here, using paired recordings and optogenetic activation of glomerular sensory inputs in MOB slices, we uncovered profound differences in principal mitral cell (MC) vs. tufted cell (TC) spike-time synchrony: TCs robustly synchronized across fast- and slow-gamma frequencies, while MC synchrony was weaker and concentrated in slow-gamma frequencies. Synchrony among both cell types was enhanced by shared glomerular input but was independent of intraglomerular lateral excitation. Cell-type differences in synchrony could also not be traced to any difference in the synchronization of synaptic inhibition. Instead, greater TC than MC synchrony paralleled the more periodic firing among resonant TCs than MCs and emerged in patterns consistent with densely synchronous network oscillations. Collectively, our results thus reveal a mechanism for parallel processing of sensory information in the MOB via differential TC vs. MC synchrony, and further contrast mechanisms driving fast network oscillations in the MOB from those driving the sparse synchronization of irregularly-firing principal cells throughout cortex.


eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn D Burton ◽  
Nathan N Urban

Neural synchrony generates fast network oscillations throughout the brain, including the main olfactory bulb (MOB), the first processing station of the olfactory system. Identifying the mechanisms synchronizing neurons in the MOB will be key to understanding how network oscillations support the coding of a high-dimensional sensory space. Here, using paired recordings and optogenetic activation of glomerular sensory inputs in MOB slices, we uncovered profound differences in principal mitral cell (MC) vs. tufted cell (TC) spike-time synchrony: TCs robustly synchronized across fast- and slow-gamma frequencies, while MC synchrony was weaker and concentrated in slow-gamma frequencies. Synchrony among both cell types was enhanced by shared glomerular input but was independent of intraglomerular lateral excitation. Cell-type differences in synchrony could also not be traced to any difference in the synchronization of synaptic inhibition. Instead, greater TC than MC synchrony paralleled the more periodic firing among resonant TCs than MCs and emerged in patterns consistent with densely synchronous network oscillations. Collectively, our results thus reveal a mechanism for parallel processing of sensory information in the MOB via differential TC vs. MC synchrony, and further contrast mechanisms driving fast network oscillations in the MOB from those driving the sparse synchronization of irregularly-firing principal cells throughout cortex.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Fujimoto ◽  
Marcus N. Leiwe ◽  
Richi Sakaguchi ◽  
Yuko Muroyama ◽  
Reiko Kobayakawa ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIn the mouse olfactory bulb, sensory information detected by ∼1,000 types of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) is represented by the glomerular map. The second-order neurons, mitral and tufted cells, connect a single primary dendrite to one glomerulus. This forms discrete connectivity between the ∼1,000 types of input and output neurons. It has remained unknown how this discrete dendrite wiring is established during development. We found that genetically silencing neuronal activity in mitral cells, but not from OSNs, perturbs the dendrite pruning of mitral cells. In vivo calcium imaging of awake neonatal animals revealed two types of spontaneous neuronal activity in mitral/tufted cells, but not in OSNs. Pharmacological and knockout experiments revealed a role for glutamate and NMDARs. The genetic blockade of neurotransmission among mitral/tufted cells reduced spontaneous activity and perturbed dendrite wiring. Thus, spontaneous network activity generated within the olfactory bulb self-organizes the parallel discrete connections in the mouse olfactory system.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaina M. Short ◽  
Matt Wachowiak

ABSTRACTIn mammalian olfaction, inhalation drives the temporal patterning of neural activity that underlies early olfactory processing, and a single inhalation of odorant is sufficient for odor perception. However, how the neural circuits that process incoming olfactory information are activated in the context of inhalation-linked dynamics remains poorly understood. To better understand early olfactory processing in vivo, we used an artificial inhalation paradigm combined with two-photon calcium imaging to compare the dynamics of activity evoked by odorant inhalation across major cell types of the mouse olfactory bulb. Transgenic models and cell-type specific genetic tools were used to express GCaMP6f or jRGECO1a in mitral and tufted cell subpopulations, olfactory sensory neurons and two major juxtaglomerular interneuron classes, and responses to a single inhalation of odorant were compared. Activity in all cell types was strongly linked to inhalation, and all cell types showed some variance in the latency, rise-times and durations of their inhalation-linked response patterns. The dynamics of juxtaglomerular interneuron activity closely matched that of sensory neuron inputs, while mitral and tufted cells showed the highest diversity in dynamics, with a range of latencies and durations that could not be accounted for by heterogeneity in the dynamics of sensory input. Surprisingly, temporal response patterns of mitral and superficial tufted cells were highly overlapping such that these two subpopulations could not be distinguished on the basis of their inhalation-linked dynamics, with the exception of a subpopulation of superficial tufted cells expressing the peptide transmitter cholecystokinin. Overall, these results support a model in which diversity in inhalation-linked patterning of OB output arises first at the level of OSN inputs to the OB and is enhanced by feedforward inhibition from juxtaglomerular interneurons which differentially impacts different subpopulations of OB output neurons.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna K. Kostka ◽  
Sabine Gretenkord ◽  
Ileana L. Hanganu-Opatz

ABSTRACTShortly after birth, the olfactory system provides to blind, deaf, non-whisking and motorically-limited rodents not only the main source of environmental inputs, but also the drive boosting the functional entrainment of limbic circuits. However, the cellular substrate of this early communication remains largely unknown. Here we combine in vivo and in vitro patch-clamp and extracellular recordings to reveal the contribution of mitral cell (MC) firing to the early patterns of network activity in the neonatal olfactory bulb (OB) and lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC), the gatekeeper of limbic circuits. We show that MCs predominantly fire either in an irregular bursting or non-bursting pattern during discontinuous theta events in OB. However, the temporal spike-theta phase coupling is stronger for bursting MCs when compared to non-bursting cells. In line with the direct OB projections to LEC, both bursting and non-bursting firing augments during coordinated patterns of entorhinal activity, yet to a higher magnitude for bursting MCs. These cells are stronger temporally coupled to the discontinuous theta events in LEC. Thus, bursting MCs might drive the entrainment of OB-LEC network during neonatal development.KEY POINTSDuring early postnatal development mitral cells show either irregular bursting or non-bursting firing patternsBursting mitral cells preferentially fire during theta bursts in the neonatal OB, being locked to the theta phaseBursting mitral cells preferentially fire during theta bursts in the neonatal lateral entorhinal cortex and are temporally related to both respiration rhythm- and theta phaseBursting mitral cells act as cellular substrate of the olfactory drive promoting the oscillatory entrainment of entorhinal networks


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