1
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Jun H, Lee JY, Bleza NR, Ichii A, Donohue JD, Igarashi KM. Prefrontal and lateral entorhinal neurons co-dependently learn item-outcome rules. Nature 2024; 633:864-871. [PMID: 39169188 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07868-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
The ability to learn novel items depends on brain functions that store information about items classified by their associated meanings and outcomes1-4, but the underlying neural circuit mechanisms of this process remain poorly understood. Here we show that deep layers of the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) contain two groups of 'item-outcome neurons': one developing activity for rewarded items during learning, and another for punished items. As mice learned an olfactory item-outcome association, we found that the neuronal population of LEC layers 5/6 (LECL5/6) formed an internal map of pre-learned and novel items, classified into dichotomic rewarded versus punished groups. Neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which form a bidirectional loop circuit with LECL5/6, developed an equivalent item-outcome rule map during learning. When LECL5/6 neurons were optogenetically inhibited, tangled mPFC representations of novel items failed to split into rewarded versus punished groups, impairing new learning by mice. Conversely, when mPFC neurons were inhibited, LECL5/6 representations of individual items were held completely separate, disrupting both learning and retrieval of associations. These results suggest that LECL5/6 neurons and mPFC neurons co-dependently encode item memory as a map of associated outcome rules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heechul Jun
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Jason Y Lee
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Nicholas R Bleza
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Ayana Ichii
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Jordan D Donohue
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Kei M Igarashi
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
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2
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Zhang X, Zhu Y, Lu J, Chen Q, Chen F, Long C, Xu X, Ge D, Bai Y, Liu D, Du S, Zhu Z, Mai X, Yang QX, Zhang B. Altered functional connectivity of primary olfactory cortex-hippocampus-frontal cortex in subjective cognitive decline during odor stimulation. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26814. [PMID: 39163575 PMCID: PMC11335137 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Revised: 07/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a high-risk population in the preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and olfactory dysfunction is a risk factor for dementia progression. The present study aimed to explore the patterns of functional connectivity (FC) changes in the olfactory neural circuits during olfactory stimulation in SCD subjects. A total of 56 SCD subjects and 56 normal controls (NCs) were included. All subjects were assessed with a cognitive scale, an olfactory behavior test, and olfactory task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. The FC differences in olfactory neural circuits between the two groups were analyzed by the generalized psychophysiological interaction. Additionally, we calculated and compared the activation of brain regions within the olfactory neural circuits during odor stimulation, the volumetric differences in brain regions showing FC differences between groups, and the correlations between neuroimaging indicators and olfactory behavioral and cognitive scale scores. During odor stimulation, the FC between the bilateral primary olfactory cortex (bPOC) and the right hippocampus in the SCD group was significantly reduced; while the FC between the right hippocampus and the right frontal cortex was significantly increased in the SCD group. The bPOC of all subjects showed significant activation, but no significant difference in activation between groups was found. No significant differences were observed in the volume of the brain regions within the olfactory neural circuits or in olfactory behavior between groups. The volume of the bPOC and right frontal cortex was significantly positively correlated with olfactory identification, and the volume of the right frontal cortex and right hippocampus was significantly correlated with cognitive functions. Furthermore, a significant correlation between the activation of bPOC and the olfactory threshold was found in the whole cohort. These results suggested that while the structure of the olfactory neural circuits and olfactory behavior in SCD subjects remained stable, there were significant changes observed in the FC of the olfactory neural circuits (specifically, the POC-hippocampus-frontal cortex neural circuits) during odor stimulation. These findings highlight the potential of FC alterations as sensitive imaging markers for identifying high-risk individuals in the early stage of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zhang
- Department of RadiologyNanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing University of Chinese MedicineNanjingChina
| | - Yajing Zhu
- Department of RadiologyNanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Jiaming Lu
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical SchoolNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Qian Chen
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical SchoolNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Futao Chen
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical SchoolNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Cong Long
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical SchoolNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Xinru Xu
- Department of RadiologyNanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Danni Ge
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical SchoolNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Yijun Bai
- Department of PsychologyNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Dongming Liu
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical SchoolNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Shunshun Du
- Department of PsychologyNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Zhengyang Zhu
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical SchoolNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Xiaoli Mai
- Department of RadiologyNanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Qing X. Yang
- Department of RadiologyThe Pennsylvania State University College of MedicineHersheyPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Bing Zhang
- Department of RadiologyNanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing University of Chinese MedicineNanjingChina
- Department of RadiologyNanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical SchoolNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
- Department of PsychologyNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
- Institute of Medical Imaging and Artificial IntelligenceNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
- Medical Imaging Center, Affiliated Drum Tower HospitalMedical School of Nanjing UniversityNanjingChina
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular MedicineNanjingChina
- Institute of Brain ScienceNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
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3
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Ährlund-Richter S, Osako Y, Jenks KR, Odom E, Huang H, Arnold DB, Sur M. Prefrontal Cortex subregions provide distinct visual and behavioral feedback modulation to the Primary Visual Cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.06.606894. [PMID: 39149348 PMCID: PMC11326267 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.06.606894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
The mammalian Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) has been suggested to modulate sensory information processing across multiple cortical regions via long-range axonal projections. These axonal projections arise from PFC subregions with unique brain-wide connectivity and functional repertoires, which may provide the architecture for modular feedback intended to shape sensory processing. Here, we used axonal tracing, axonal and somatic 2-photon calcium imaging, and chemogenetic manipulations in mice to delineate how projections from the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACA) and ventrolateral Orbitofrontal Cortex (ORB) of the PFC modulate sensory processing in the primary Visual Cortex (VISp) across behavioral states. Structurally, we found that ACA and ORB have distinct patterning of projections across both cortical regions and layers. ACA axons in VISp had a stronger representation of visual stimulus information than ORB axons, but both projections showed non-visual, behavior-dependent activity. ACA input to VISp enhanced the encoding of visual stimuli by VISp neurons, and modulation of visual responses scaled with arousal. On the other hand, ORB input shaped movement and arousal related modulation of VISp visual responses, but specifically reduced the encoding of high-contrast visual stimuli. Thus, ACA and ORB feedback have separable projection patterns and encode distinct visual and behavioral information, putatively providing the substrate for their unique effects on visual representations and behavioral modulation in VISp. Our results offer a refined model of cortical hierarchy and its impact on sensory information processing, whereby distinct as opposed to generalized properties of PFC projections contribute to VISp activity during discrete behavioral states.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Ährlund-Richter
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Y Osako
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - K R Jenks
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - E Odom
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - H Huang
- Department of Biology, Division of Molecular and Computational Biology, Dornsife College, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - D B Arnold
- Department of Biology, Division of Molecular and Computational Biology, Dornsife College, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - M Sur
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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4
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Lee D, Lau N, Liu L, Root CM. Transformation of valence signaling in a striatopallidal circuit. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.08.01.551547. [PMID: 37577586 PMCID: PMC10418236 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.01.551547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
The ways in which sensory stimuli acquire motivational valence through association with other stimuli is one of the simplest forms of learning. Though we have identified many brain nuclei that play various roles in reward processing, a significant gap remains in understanding how valence encoding transforms through the layers of sensory processing. To address this gap, we carried out a comparative investigation of the anteromedial olfactory tubercle (OT), and the ventral pallidum (VP) - 2 connected nuclei of the basal ganglia which have both been implicated in reward processing. First, using anterograde and retrograde tracing, we show that both D1 and D2 neurons of the anteromedial OT project primarily to the VP and minimally elsewhere. Using 2-photon calcium imaging, we then investigated how the identity of the odor and reward contingency of the odor are differently encoded by neurons in either structure during a classical conditioning paradigm. We find that VP neurons robustly encode reward contingency, but not identity, in low-dimensional space. In contrast, the OT neurons primarily encode odor identity in high-dimensional space. Although D1 OT neurons showed larger responses to rewarded odors than other odors, consistent with prior findings, we interpret this as identity encoding with enhanced contrast. Finally, using a novel conditioning paradigm that decouples reward contingency and licking vigor, we show that both features are encoded by non-overlapping VP neurons. These results provide a novel framework for the striatopallidal circuit in which a high-dimensional encoding of stimulus identity is collapsed onto a low-dimensional encoding of motivational valence.
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5
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Chen W, Liang J, Wu Q, Han Y. Anterior cingulate cortex provides the neural substrates for feedback-driven iteration of decision and value representation. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6020. [PMID: 39019943 PMCID: PMC11255269 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50388-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Adjusting decision-making under uncertain and dynamic situations is the hallmark of intelligence. It requires a system capable of converting feedback information to renew the internal value. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) involves in error and reward events that prompt switching or maintenance of current decision strategies. However, it is unclear whether and how the changes of stimulus-action mapping during behavioral adaptation are encoded, nor how such computation drives decision adaptation. Here, we tracked ACC activity in male mice performing go/no-go auditory discrimination tasks with manipulated stimulus-reward contingencies. Individual ACC neurons integrate the outcome information to the value representation in the next-run trials. Dynamic recruitment of them determines the learning rate of error-guided value iteration and decision adaptation, forming a non-linear feedback-driven updating system to secure the appropriate decision switch. Optogenetically suppressing ACC significantly slowed down feedback-driven decision switching without interfering with the execution of the established strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqi Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Jiejunyi Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Qiyun Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Yunyun Han
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
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6
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Federman N, Romano SA, Amigo-Duran M, Salomon L, Marin-Burgin A. Acquisition of non-olfactory encoding improves odour discrimination in olfactory cortex. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5572. [PMID: 38956072 PMCID: PMC11220071 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49897-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Olfaction is influenced by contextual factors, past experiences, and the animal's internal state. Whether this information is integrated at the initial stages of cortical odour processing is not known, nor how these signals may influence odour encoding. Here we revealed multiple and diverse non-olfactory responses in the primary olfactory (piriform) cortex (PCx), which dynamically enhance PCx odour discrimination according to behavioural demands. We performed recordings of PCx neurons from mice trained in a virtual reality task to associate odours with visual contexts to obtain a reward. We found that learning shifts PCx activity from encoding solely odours to a regime in which positional, contextual, and associative responses emerge on odour-responsive neurons that become mixed-selective. The modulation of PCx activity by these non-olfactory signals was dynamic, improving odour decoding during task engagement and in rewarded contexts. This improvement relied on the acquired mixed-selectivity, demonstrating how integrating extra-sensory inputs in sensory cortices can enhance sensory processing while encoding the behavioural relevance of stimuli.
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Grants
- 108878 Canadian International Development Agency (Agence Canadienne de Développement International)
- PICT2018-0880 Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | National Agency for Science and Technology, Argentina | Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Fund for Scientific and Technological Research)
- PICT2020-0360 Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | National Agency for Science and Technology, Argentina | Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Fund for Scientific and Technological Research)
- PICT2020-1536 Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | National Agency for Science and Technology, Argentina | Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Fund for Scientific and Technological Research)
- PICT2016-2758 Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | National Agency for Science and Technology, Argentina | Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Fund for Scientific and Technological Research)
- PICT2017-4023 Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | National Agency for Science and Technology, Argentina | Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Fund for Scientific and Technological Research)
- PIP2787 Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina)
- SPIRIT 216044 Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation)
- Fondo para la convergencia estructural del Mercosur–FOCEM grant cOF 03/11
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Affiliation(s)
- Noel Federman
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Sebastián A Romano
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Macarena Amigo-Duran
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, PhD Program, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucca Salomon
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, PhD Program, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Antonia Marin-Burgin
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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7
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Fulton KA, Zimmerman D, Samuel A, Vogt K, Datta SR. Common principles for odour coding across vertebrates and invertebrates. Nat Rev Neurosci 2024; 25:453-472. [PMID: 38806946 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-024-00822-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
The olfactory system is an ideal and tractable system for exploring how the brain transforms sensory inputs into behaviour. The basic tasks of any olfactory system include odour detection, discrimination and categorization. The challenge for the olfactory system is to transform the high-dimensional space of olfactory stimuli into the much smaller space of perceived objects and valence that endows odours with meaning. Our current understanding of how neural circuits address this challenge has come primarily from observations of the mechanisms of the brain for processing other sensory modalities, such as vision and hearing, in which optimized deep hierarchical circuits are used to extract sensory features that vary along continuous physical dimensions. The olfactory system, by contrast, contends with an ill-defined, high-dimensional stimulus space and discrete stimuli using a circuit architecture that is shallow and parallelized. Here, we present recent observations in vertebrate and invertebrate systems that relate the statistical structure and state-dependent modulation of olfactory codes to mechanisms of perception and odour-guided behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kara A Fulton
- Department of Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David Zimmerman
- Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Aravi Samuel
- Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Katrin Vogt
- Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
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8
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McKissick O, Klimpert N, Ritt JT, Fleischmann A. Odors in space. Front Neural Circuits 2024; 18:1414452. [PMID: 38978957 PMCID: PMC11228174 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2024.1414452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024] Open
Abstract
As an evolutionarily ancient sense, olfaction is key to learning where to find food, shelter, mates, and important landmarks in an animal's environment. Brain circuitry linking odor and navigation appears to be a well conserved multi-region system among mammals; the anterior olfactory nucleus, piriform cortex, entorhinal cortex, and hippocampus each represent different aspects of olfactory and spatial information. We review recent advances in our understanding of the neural circuits underlying odor-place associations, highlighting key choices of behavioral task design and neural circuit manipulations for investigating learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia McKissick
- Department of Neuroscience and Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Nell Klimpert
- Department of Neuroscience and Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Jason T Ritt
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Alexander Fleischmann
- Department of Neuroscience and Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
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9
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Fang S, Luo Z, Wei Z, Qin Y, Zheng J, Zhang H, Jin J, Li J, Miao C, Yang S, Li Y, Liang Z, Yu XD, Zhang XM, Xiong W, Zhu H, Gan WB, Huang L, Li B. Sexually dimorphic control of affective state processing and empathic behaviors. Neuron 2024; 112:1498-1517.e8. [PMID: 38430912 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Recognizing the affective states of social counterparts and responding appropriately fosters successful social interactions. However, little is known about how the affective states are expressed and perceived and how they influence social decisions. Here, we show that male and female mice emit distinct olfactory cues after experiencing distress. These cues activate distinct neural circuits in the piriform cortex (PiC) and evoke sexually dimorphic empathic behaviors in observers. Specifically, the PiC → PrL pathway is activated in female observers, inducing a social preference for the distressed counterpart. Conversely, the PiC → MeA pathway is activated in male observers, evoking excessive self-grooming behaviors. These pathways originate from non-overlapping PiC neuron populations with distinct gene expression signatures regulated by transcription factors and sex hormones. Our study unveils how internal states of social counterparts are processed through sexually dimorphic mechanisms at the molecular, cellular, and circuit levels and offers insights into the neural mechanisms underpinning sex differences in higher brain functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunchang Fang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Zhengyi Luo
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Zicheng Wei
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Yuxin Qin
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Jieyan Zheng
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Hongyang Zhang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Jianhua Jin
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Jiali Li
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Chenjian Miao
- Institute on Aging, Hefei, China and Brain Disorders, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Shana Yang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Yonglin Li
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Zirui Liang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Xiao-Dan Yu
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Xiao Min Zhang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Wei Xiong
- Institute on Aging, Hefei, China and Brain Disorders, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Hongying Zhu
- Institute on Aging, Hefei, China and Brain Disorders, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | | | - Lianyan Huang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; Key Laboratory of Human Microbiome and Chronic Diseases (Sun Yat-Sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510655, China.
| | - Boxing Li
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; Advanced Medical Technology Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; Key Laboratory of Human Microbiome and Chronic Diseases (Sun Yat-Sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510655, China.
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10
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Chang K, Zaikos T, Kilner-Pontone N, Ho CY. Mechanisms of COVID-19-associated olfactory dysfunction. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2024; 50:e12960. [PMID: 38419211 PMCID: PMC10906737 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Olfactory dysfunction is one of the most common symptoms of COVID-19. In the first 2 years of the pandemic, it was frequently reported, although its incidence has significantly decreased with the emergence of the Omicron variant, which has since become the dominant viral strain. Nevertheless, many patients continue to suffer from persistent dysosmia and dysgeusia, making COVID-19-associated olfactory dysfunction an ongoing health concern. The proposed pathogenic mechanisms of COVID-19-associated olfactory dysfunction are complex and likely multifactorial. While evidence suggests that infection of sustentacular cells and associated mucosal inflammation may be the culprit of acute, transient smell loss, alterations in other components of the olfactory system (e.g., olfactory receptor neuron dysfunction, olfactory bulb injury and alterations in the olfactory cortex) may lead to persistent, long-term olfactory dysfunction. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the epidemiology, clinical manifestations and current understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of COVID-19-associated olfactory dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koping Chang
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department and Graduate Institute of Pathology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Thomas Zaikos
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Cheng-Ying Ho
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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11
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Kim J, Jung MW, Lee D. Reward learning improves social signal processing in autism model mice. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113228. [PMID: 37815916 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 09/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Social and reward signal processing and their association are critical elements of social motivation. Despite the use of reward learning to improve the social interactions of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the underlying neural mechanisms are unknown. Here, we found different yet conjunct neuronal representations of social and reward signals in the mouse medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We also found that social signal processing is selectively disrupted, whereas reward signal processing is intact in the mPFC of Shank2-knockout mice, a mouse model of ASD. Furthermore, reward learning not only allows Shank2-knockout mice to associate social stimuli with reward availability, but it also rescues the impaired social signal processing. These findings provide insights into the neural basis for the therapeutic use of reward learning in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joowon Kim
- Center for Cognition and Sociality, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon 34126, Korea; Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Korea
| | - Min Whan Jung
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Korea; Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Korea; Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunction, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon 34141, Korea.
| | - Doyun Lee
- Center for Cognition and Sociality, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon 34126, Korea.
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12
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Shen Y, Dasgupta S, Navlakha S. Reducing Catastrophic Forgetting With Associative Learning: A Lesson From Fruit Flies. Neural Comput 2023; 35:1797-1819. [PMID: 37725710 DOI: 10.1162/neco_a_01615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Catastrophic forgetting remains an outstanding challenge in continual learning. Recently, methods inspired by the brain, such as continual representation learning and memory replay, have been used to combat catastrophic forgetting. Associative learning (retaining associations between inputs and outputs, even after good representations are learned) plays an important function in the brain; however, its role in continual learning has not been carefully studied. Here, we identified a two-layer neural circuit in the fruit fly olfactory system that performs continual associative learning between odors and their associated valences. In the first layer, inputs (odors) are encoded using sparse, high-dimensional representations, which reduces memory interference by activating nonoverlapping populations of neurons for different odors. In the second layer, only the synapses between odor-activated neurons and the odor's associated output neuron are modified during learning; the rest of the weights are frozen to prevent unrelated memories from being overwritten. We prove theoretically that these two perceptron-like layers help reduce catastrophic forgetting compared to the original perceptron algorithm, under continual learning. We then show empirically on benchmark data sets that this simple and lightweight architecture outperforms other popular neural-inspired algorithms when also using a two-layer feedforward architecture. Overall, fruit flies evolved an efficient continual associative learning algorithm, and circuit mechanisms from neuroscience can be translated to improve machine computation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Shen
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, U.S.A.
| | - Sanjoy Dasgupta
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, U.S.A.
| | - Saket Navlakha
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, U.S.A.
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13
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Srinivasan S, Daste S, Modi MN, Turner GC, Fleischmann A, Navlakha S. Effects of stochastic coding on olfactory discrimination in flies and mice. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002206. [PMID: 37906721 PMCID: PMC10618007 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Sparse coding can improve discrimination of sensory stimuli by reducing overlap between their representations. Two factors, however, can offset sparse coding's benefits: similar sensory stimuli have significant overlap and responses vary across trials. To elucidate the effects of these 2 factors, we analyzed odor responses in the fly and mouse olfactory regions implicated in learning and discrimination-the mushroom body (MB) and the piriform cortex (PCx). We found that neuronal responses fall along a continuum from extremely reliable across trials to extremely variable or stochastic. Computationally, we show that the observed variability arises from noise within central circuits rather than sensory noise. We propose this coding scheme to be advantageous for coarse- and fine-odor discrimination. More reliable cells enable quick discrimination between dissimilar odors. For similar odors, however, these cells overlap and do not provide distinguishing information. By contrast, more unreliable cells are decorrelated for similar odors, providing distinguishing information, though these benefits only accrue with extended training with more trials. Overall, we have uncovered a conserved, stochastic coding scheme in vertebrates and invertebrates, and we identify a candidate mechanism, based on variability in a winner-take-all (WTA) inhibitory circuit, that improves discrimination with training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shyam Srinivasan
- Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, California, United States of America
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Simon Daste
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
- Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Mehrab N. Modi
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Glenn C. Turner
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Alexander Fleischmann
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
- Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Saket Navlakha
- Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States of America
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14
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Trejo DH, Ciuparu A, da Silva PG, Velasquez CM, Rebouillat B, Gross MD, Davis MB, Muresan RC, Albeanu DF. Fast updating feedback from piriform cortex to the olfactory bulb relays multimodal reward contingency signals during rule-reversal. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.12.557267. [PMID: 37745564 PMCID: PMC10515864 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.12.557267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
While animals readily adjust their behavior to adapt to relevant changes in the environment, the neural pathways enabling these changes remain largely unknown. Here, using multiphoton imaging, we investigated whether feedback from the piriform cortex to the olfactory bulb supports such behavioral flexibility. To this end, we engaged head-fixed mice in a multimodal rule-reversal task guided by olfactory and auditory cues. Both odor and, surprisingly, the sound cues triggered cortical bulbar feedback responses which preceded the behavioral report. Responses to the same sensory cue were strongly modulated upon changes in stimulus-reward contingency (rule reversals). The re-shaping of individual bouton responses occurred within seconds of the rule-reversal events and was correlated with changes in the behavior. Optogenetic perturbation of cortical feedback within the bulb disrupted the behavioral performance. Our results indicate that the piriform-to-olfactory bulb feedback carries reward contingency signals and is rapidly re-formatted according to changes in the behavioral context.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrei Ciuparu
- Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Pedro Garcia da Silva
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
- current address – Champalimaud Neuroscience Program, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Cristina M. Velasquez
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
- current address – University of Oxford, UK
| | - Benjamin Rebouillat
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
- current address –École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
| | | | | | - Raul C. Muresan
- Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- STAR-UBB Institute, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Dinu F. Albeanu
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
- School for Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
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15
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Sagar V, Shanahan LK, Zelano CM, Gottfried JA, Kahnt T. High-precision mapping reveals the structure of odor coding in the human brain. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:1595-1602. [PMID: 37620443 PMCID: PMC10726579 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01414-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Odor perception is inherently subjective. Previous work has shown that odorous molecules evoke distributed activity patterns in olfactory cortices, but how these patterns map on to subjective odor percepts remains unclear. In the present study, we collected neuroimaging responses to 160 odors from 3 individual subjects (18 h per subject) to probe the neural coding scheme underlying idiosyncratic odor perception. We found that activity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) represents the fine-grained perceptual identity of odors over and above coarsely defined percepts, whereas this difference is less pronounced in the piriform cortex (PirC) and amygdala. Furthermore, the implementation of perceptual encoding models enabled us to predict olfactory functional magnetic resonance imaging responses to new odors, revealing that the dimensionality of the encoded perceptual spaces increases from the PirC to the OFC. Whereas encoding of lower-order dimensions generalizes across subjects, encoding of higher-order dimensions is idiosyncratic. These results provide new insights into cortical mechanisms of odor coding and suggest that subjective olfactory percepts reside in the OFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek Sagar
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Christina M Zelano
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jay A Gottfried
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Thorsten Kahnt
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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16
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Lee C, Côté SL, Raman N, Chaudhary H, Mercado BC, Chen SX. Whole-brain mapping of long-range inputs to the VIP-expressing inhibitory neurons in the primary motor cortex. Front Neural Circuits 2023; 17:1093066. [PMID: 37275468 PMCID: PMC10237295 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2023.1093066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The primary motor cortex (MOp) is an important site for motor skill learning. Interestingly, neurons in MOp possess reward-related activity, presumably to facilitate reward-based motor learning. While pyramidal neurons (PNs) and different subtypes of GABAergic inhibitory interneurons (INs) in MOp all undergo cell-type specific plastic changes during motor learning, the vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing inhibitory interneurons (VIP-INs) in MOp have been shown to preferentially respond to reward and play a critical role in the early phases of motor learning by triggering local circuit plasticity. To understand how VIP-INs might integrate various streams of information, such as sensory, pre-motor, and reward-related inputs, to regulate local plasticity in MOp, we performed monosynaptic rabies tracing experiments and employed an automated cell counting pipeline to generate a comprehensive map of brain-wide inputs to VIP-INs in MOp. We then compared this input profile to the brain-wide inputs to somatostatin-expressing inhibitory interneurons (SST-INs) and parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory interneurons (PV-INs) in MOp. We found that while all cell types received major inputs from sensory, motor, and prefrontal cortical regions, as well as from various thalamic nuclei, VIP-INs received more inputs from the orbital frontal cortex (ORB) - a region associated with reinforcement learning and value predictions. Our findings provide insight on how the brain leverages microcircuit motifs by both integrating and partitioning different streams of long-range input to modulate local circuit activity and plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Candice Lee
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Sandrine L. Côté
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Nima Raman
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Hritvic Chaudhary
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Bryan C. Mercado
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Simon X. Chen
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Center for Neural Dynamics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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17
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Cansler HL, in ’t Zandt EE, Carlson KS, Khan WT, Ma M, Wesson DW. Organization and engagement of a prefrontal-olfactory network during olfactory selective attention. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:1504-1526. [PMID: 35511680 PMCID: PMC9930634 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sensory perception is profoundly shaped by attention. Attending to an odor strongly regulates if and how it is perceived - yet the brain systems involved in this process are unknown. Here we report integration of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a collection of brain regions integral to attention, with the olfactory system in the context of selective attention to odors. METHODS First, we used tracing methods to establish the tubular striatum (TuS, also known as the olfactory tubercle) as the primary olfactory region to receive direct mPFC input in rats. Next, we recorded (i) local field potentials from the olfactory bulb (OB), mPFC, and TuS, or (ii) sniffing, while rats completed an olfactory selective attention task. RESULTS Gamma power and coupling of gamma oscillations with theta phase were consistently high as rats flexibly switched their attention to odors. Beta and theta synchrony between mPFC and olfactory regions were elevated as rats switched their attention to odors. Finally, we found that sniffing was consistent despite shifting attentional demands, suggesting that the mPFC-OB theta coherence is independent of changes in active sampling. CONCLUSIONS Together, these findings begin to define an olfactory attention network wherein mPFC activity, as well as that within olfactory regions, are coordinated based upon attentional states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hillary L Cansler
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education, Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, University of Florida, 1200 Newell Dr., Gainesville, FL 32610, United States
| | - Estelle E in ’t Zandt
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education, Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, University of Florida, 1200 Newell Dr., Gainesville, FL 32610, United States
| | - Kaitlin S Carlson
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education, Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, University of Florida, 1200 Newell Dr., Gainesville, FL 32610, United States
| | - Waseh T Khan
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education, Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, University of Florida, 1200 Newell Dr., Gainesville, FL 32610, United States
| | - Minghong Ma
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 110 Johnson Pavilion, 3610 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Daniel W Wesson
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education, Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, University of Florida, 1200 Newell Dr., Gainesville, FL 32610, United States
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18
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Idris A, Christensen BA, Walker EM, Maier JX. Multisensory integration of orally-sourced gustatory and olfactory inputs to the posterior piriform cortex in awake rats. J Physiol 2023; 601:151-169. [PMID: 36385245 PMCID: PMC9869978 DOI: 10.1113/jp283873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Flavour refers to the sensory experience of food, which is a combination of sensory inputs sourced from multiple modalities during consumption, including taste and odour. Previous work has demonstrated that orally-sourced taste and odour cues interact to determine perceptual judgements of flavour stimuli, although the underlying cellular- and circuit-level neural mechanisms remain unknown. We recently identified a region of the piriform olfactory cortex in rats that responds to both taste and odour stimuli. Here, we investigated how converging taste and odour inputs to this area interact to affect single neuron responsiveness ensemble coding of flavour identity. To accomplish this, we recorded spiking activity from ensembles of single neurons in the posterior piriform cortex (pPC) in awake, tasting rats while delivering taste solutions, odour solutions and taste + odour mixtures directly into the oral cavity. Our results show that taste and odour inputs evoke highly selective, temporally-overlapping responses in multisensory pPC neurons. Comparing responses to mixtures and their unisensory components revealed that taste and odour inputs interact in a non-linear manner to produce unique response patterns. Taste input enhances trial-by-trial decoding of odour identity from small ensembles of simultaneously recorded neurons. Together, these results demonstrate that taste and odour inputs to pPC interact in complex, non-linear ways to form amodal flavour representations that enhance identity coding. KEY POINTS: Experience of food involves taste and smell, although how information from these different senses is combined by the brain to create our sense of flavour remains unknown. We recorded from small groups of neurons in the olfactory cortex of awake rats while they consumed taste solutions, odour solutions and taste + odour mixtures. Taste and smell solutions evoke highly selective responses. When presented in a mixture, taste and smell inputs interacted to alter responses, resulting in activation of unique sets of neurons that could not be predicted by the component responses. Synergistic interactions increase discriminability of odour representations. The olfactory cortex uses taste and smell to create new information representing multisensory flavour identity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ammar Idris
- Department of Neurobiology & AnatomyWake Forest School of MedicineWinston‐SalemNCUSA
| | - Brooke A. Christensen
- Department of Neurobiology & AnatomyWake Forest School of MedicineWinston‐SalemNCUSA
| | - Ellen M. Walker
- Department of Neurobiology & AnatomyWake Forest School of MedicineWinston‐SalemNCUSA
| | - Joost X. Maier
- Department of Neurobiology & AnatomyWake Forest School of MedicineWinston‐SalemNCUSA
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19
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Hart EE, Gardner MPH, Panayi MC, Kahnt T, Schoenbaum G. Calcium activity is a degraded estimate of spikes. Curr Biol 2022; 32:5364-5373.e4. [PMID: 36368324 PMCID: PMC9772124 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.10.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Recording action potentials extracellularly during behavior has led to fundamental discoveries regarding neural function-hippocampal neurons respond to locations in space,1 motor cortex neurons encode movement direction,2 and dopamine neurons signal reward prediction errors3-observations undergirding current theories of cognition,4 movement,5 and learning.6 Recently it has become possible to measure calcium flux, an internal cellular signal related to spiking. The ability to image calcium flux in anatomically7,8 or genetically9 identified neurons can extend our knowledge of neural circuit function by allowing activity to be monitored in specific cell types or projections, or in the same neurons across many days. However, while initial studies were grounded in prior unit recording work, it has become fashionable to assume that calcium is identical to spiking, even though the spike-to-fluorescence transformation is nonlinear, noisy, and unpredictable under real-world conditions.10 It remains an open question whether calcium provides a high-fidelity representation of single-unit activity in awake, behaving subjects. Here, we have addressed this question by recording both signals in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of rats during olfactory discrimination learning. Activity in the OFC during olfactory learning has been well-studied in humans,11,12,13,14 nonhuman primates,15,16 and rats,17,18,19,20,21 where it has been shown to signal information about both the sensory properties of odor cues and the rewards they predict. Our single-unit results replicated prior findings, whereas the calcium signal provided only a degraded estimate of the information available in the single-unit spiking, reflecting primarily reward value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan E Hart
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 45 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Matthew PH Gardner
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke West, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, CA
| | - Marios C Panayi
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Thorsten Kahnt
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 110 S Paca Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 110 S Paca Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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20
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Thaploo D, Joshi A, Georgiopoulos C, Warr J, Hummel T. Tractography indicates lateralized differences between trigeminal and olfactory pathways. Neuroimage 2022; 261:119518. [PMID: 35926760 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Odorous sensations are based on trigeminal and olfactory perceptions. Both trigeminal and olfactory stimuli generate overlapping as well as distinctive activations in the olfactory cortex including the piriform cortex. Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), an integrative center for all senses, is directly activated in the presence of olfactory stimulations. In contrast, the thalamus, a very important midbrain structure, is not directly activated in the presence of odors, but rather acts as a relay for portions of olfactory information between primary olfactory cortex and higher-order processing centers. The aims of the study were (1) to examine the number of streamlines between the piriform cortex and the OFC and also between the piriform cortex and the thalamus and (2) to explore potential correlations between these streamlines and trigeminal and olfactory chemosensory perceptions. Thirty-eight healthy subjects were recruited for the study and underwent diffusion MRI using a 3T MRI scanner with 67 diffusion directions. ROIs were adapted from two studies looking into olfaction in terms of functional and structural properties of the olfactory system. The "waytotal number" was used which corresponds to number of streamlines between two regions of interests. We found the number of streamlines between the piriform cortex and the thalamus to be higher in the left hemisphere, whereas the number of streamlines between the piriform cortex and the OFC were higher in the right hemisphere. We also found streamlines between the piriform cortex and the thalamus to be positively correlated with the intensity of irritating (trigeminal) odors. On the other hand, streamlines between the piriform cortex and the OFC were correlated with the threshold scores for these trigeminal odors. This is the first studying the correlations between streamlines and olfactory scores using tractography. Results suggest that different chemosensory stimuli are processed through different networks in the chemosensory system involving the thalamus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Divesh Thaploo
- Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Haus 5, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden 01307, Germany.
| | - Akshita Joshi
- Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Haus 5, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden 01307, Germany
| | - Charalampos Georgiopoulos
- Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Haus 5, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden 01307, Germany; Department of Radiology in Linköping, and Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | | | - Thomas Hummel
- Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Haus 5, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden 01307, Germany
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21
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Ramirez-Gordillo D, Bayer KU, Restrepo D. Hippocampal-prefrontal theta coupling develops as mice become proficient in associative odorant discrimination learning. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0259-22.2022. [PMID: 36127136 PMCID: PMC9536857 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0259-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning and memory requires coordinated activity between different regions of the brain. Here we studied the interaction between infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampal dorsal CA1 during associative odorant discrimination learning in the mouse. We found that as the animal learns to discriminate odorants in a go-no go task, the coupling of high frequency neural oscillations to the phase of theta oscillations (theta-referenced phase-amplitude coupling or tPAC) changes in a manner that results in divergence between rewarded and unrewarded odorant-elicited changes in the theta-phase referenced power (tPRP) for beta and gamma oscillations. In addition, in the proficient animal there was a decrease in the coordinated oscillatory activity between CA1 and mPFC in the presence of the unrewarded odorant. Furthermore, the changes in tPAC resulted in a marked increase in the accuracy for decoding contextual odorant identity from tPRP when the animal became proficient. Finally, we studied the role of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II α (CaMKIIα), a protein involved in learning and memory, in oscillatory neural processing in this task. We find that the accuracy for decoding the contextual odorant identity from tPRP decreases in CaMKIIα knockout mice and that this accuracy correlates with behavioral performance. These results implicate a role for tPAC and CaMKIIα in olfactory go-no go associative learning in the hippocampal-prefrontal circuit.Significance statementCoupling of neural oscillations within and between hippocampal CA1 and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in spatial learning and memory, but the role of oscillation coupling for other learning tasks is not well understood. Here we performed local field potential recording in CA1 and mPFC in mice learning to differentiate rewarded from unrewarded odorants in an associative learning task. We find that odorant-elicited changes in the power of bursts of gamma oscillations at distinct phases of theta oscillations become divergent as the animal becomes proficient allowing decoding of contextual odorant identity. Finally, we find that the accuracy to decode contextual odorant identity decreases in mice deficient for the expression of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II α, a protein involved in synaptic plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Ramirez-Gordillo
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - K Ulrich Bayer
- Neuroscience Program, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Diego Restrepo
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
- Neuroscience Program, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
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22
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Kostka JK, Bitzenhofer SH. How the sense of smell influences cognition throughout life. NEUROFORUM 2022; 28:177-185. [PMID: 36067120 PMCID: PMC9380998 DOI: 10.1515/nf-2022-0007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Although mostly unaware, we constantly navigate a complex landscape of airborne molecules. The perception of these molecules helps us navigate, shapes our social life, and can trigger emotionally charged memories transporting us back to the past within a split second. While the processing of olfactory information in early sensory areas is well understood, how the sense of smell affects cognition only recently gained attention in the field of neuroscience. Here, we review links between olfaction and cognition and explore the idea that the activity in olfactory areas may be critical for coordinating cognitive networks. Further, we discuss how olfactory activity may shape the development of cognitive networks and associations between the decline of olfactory and cognitive abilities in aging. Olfaction provides a great tool to study large-scale networks underlying cognitive abilities and bears the potential for a better understanding of cognitive symptoms associated with many mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna K. Kostka
- Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg, Institute of Developmental Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian H. Bitzenhofer
- Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg, Institute of Developmental Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251, Hamburg, Germany
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23
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The facets of olfactory learning. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 76:102623. [PMID: 35998474 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Volatile chemicals in the environment provide ethologically important information to many animals. However, how animals learn to use this information is only beginning to be understood. This review highlights recent experimental advances elucidating olfactory learning in rodents, ranging from adaptations to the environment to task-dependent refinement and multisensory associations. The broad range of phenomena, mechanisms, and brain areas involved demonstrate the complex and multifaceted nature of olfactory learning.
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Winkelmeier L, Filosa C, Hartig R, Scheller M, Sack M, Reinwald JR, Becker R, Wolf D, Gerchen MF, Sartorius A, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Weber-Fahr W, Clemm von Hohenberg C, Russo E, Kelsch W. Striatal hub of dynamic and stabilized prediction coding in forebrain networks for olfactory reinforcement learning. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3305. [PMID: 35676281 PMCID: PMC9177857 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30978-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying the circuits responsible for cognition and understanding their embedded computations is a challenge for neuroscience. We establish here a hierarchical cross-scale approach, from behavioral modeling and fMRI in task-performing mice to cellular recordings, in order to disentangle local network contributions to olfactory reinforcement learning. At mesoscale, fMRI identifies a functional olfactory-striatal network interacting dynamically with higher-order cortices. While primary olfactory cortices respectively contribute only some value components, the downstream olfactory tubercle of the ventral striatum expresses comprehensively reward prediction, its dynamic updating, and prediction error components. In the tubercle, recordings reveal two underlying neuronal populations with non-redundant reward prediction coding schemes. One population collectively produces stabilized predictions as distributed activity across neurons; in the other, neurons encode value individually and dynamically integrate the recent history of uncertain outcomes. These findings validate a cross-scale approach to mechanistic investigations of higher cognitive functions in rodents. Where and how the brain learns from experience is not fully understood. Here the authors use a hierarchical approach from behavioural modelling to systems fMRI to cellular coding reveals brain mechanisms for history informed updating of future predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurens Winkelmeier
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Carla Filosa
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Renée Hartig
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Max Scheller
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Markus Sack
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Jonathan R Reinwald
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Robert Becker
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - David Wolf
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Martin Fungisai Gerchen
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Alexander Sartorius
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Weber-Fahr
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | - Eleonora Russo
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Kelsch
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany. .,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
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25
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Takehara-Nishiuchi K. Neuronal ensemble dynamics in associative learning. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 73:102530. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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26
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Endo K, Kazama H. Central organization of a high-dimensional odor space. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 73:102528. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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27
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Hiratani N, Latham PE. Developmental and evolutionary constraints on olfactory circuit selection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2100600119. [PMID: 35263217 PMCID: PMC8931209 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100600119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
SignificanceIn this work, we explore the hypothesis that biological neural networks optimize their architecture, through evolution, for learning. We study early olfactory circuits of mammals and insects, which have relatively similar structure but a huge diversity in size. We approximate these circuits as three-layer networks and estimate, analytically, the scaling of the optimal hidden-layer size with input-layer size. We find that both longevity and information in the genome constrain the hidden-layer size, so a range of allometric scalings is possible. However, the experimentally observed allometric scalings in mammals and insects are consistent with biologically plausible values. This analysis should pave the way for a deeper understanding of both biological and artificial networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoki Hiratani
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom
| | - Peter E. Latham
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom
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28
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Nagappan S, Franks KM. Parallel processing by distinct classes of principal neurons in the olfactory cortex. eLife 2021; 10:73668. [PMID: 34913870 PMCID: PMC8676325 DOI: 10.7554/elife.73668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how distinct neuron types in a neural circuit process and propagate information is essential for understanding what the circuit does and how it does it. The olfactory (piriform, PCx) cortex contains two main types of principal neurons, semilunar (SL) and superficial pyramidal (PYR) cells. SLs and PYRs have distinct morphologies, local connectivity, biophysical properties, and downstream projection targets. Odor processing in PCx is thought to occur in two sequential stages. First, SLs receive and integrate olfactory bulb input and then PYRs receive, transform, and transmit SL input. To test this model, we recorded from populations of optogenetically identified SLs and PYRs in awake, head-fixed mice. Notably, silencing SLs did not alter PYR odor responses, and SLs and PYRs exhibited differences in odor tuning properties and response discriminability that were consistent with their distinct embeddings within a sensory-associative cortex. Our results therefore suggest that SLs and PYRs form parallel channels for differentially processing odor information in and through PCx.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kevin M Franks
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, United States
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29
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K Namboodiri VM, Hobbs T, Trujillo-Pisanty I, Simon RC, Gray MM, Stuber GD. Relative salience signaling within a thalamo-orbitofrontal circuit governs learning rate. Curr Biol 2021; 31:5176-5191.e5. [PMID: 34637750 PMCID: PMC8849135 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Learning to predict rewards is essential for the sustained fitness of animals. Contemporary views suggest that such learning is driven by a reward prediction error (RPE)-the difference between received and predicted rewards. The magnitude of learning induced by an RPE is proportional to the product of the RPE and a learning rate. Here we demonstrate using two-photon calcium imaging and optogenetics in mice that certain functionally distinct subpopulations of ventral/medial orbitofrontal cortex (vmOFC) neurons signal learning rate control. Consistent with learning rate control, trial-by-trial fluctuations in vmOFC activity positively correlate with behavioral updating when the RPE is positive, and negatively correlates with behavioral updating when the RPE is negative. Learning rate is affected by many variables including the salience of a reward. We found that the average reward response of these neurons signals the relative salience of a reward, because it decreases after reward prediction learning or the introduction of another highly salient aversive stimulus. The relative salience signaling in vmOFC is sculpted by medial thalamic inputs. These results support emerging theoretical views that prefrontal cortex encodes and controls learning parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vijay Mohan K Namboodiri
- The Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Taylor Hobbs
- The Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Ivan Trujillo-Pisanty
- The Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Rhiana C Simon
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Madelyn M Gray
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Garret D Stuber
- The Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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30
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Yan Y, Aierken A, Wang C, Song D, Ni J, Wang Z, Quan Z, Qing H. A potential biomarker of preclinical Alzheimer's disease: The olfactory dysfunction and its pathogenesis-based neural circuitry impairments. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 132:857-869. [PMID: 34810025 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The olfactory dysfunction can signal and act as a potential biomarker of preclinical AD. However, the precise regulatory mechanism of olfactory function on the neural pathogenesis of AD is still unclear. The impairment of neural networks in olfaction system has been shown to be tightly associated with AD. As key brain regions of the olfactory system, the olfactory bulb (OB) and the piriform cortex (PCx) have a profound influence on the olfactory function. Therefore, this review will explore the mechanism of olfactory dysfunction in preclinical AD in the perspective of abnormal neural networks in the OB and PCx and their associated brain regions, especially from two aspects of aberrant oscillations and synaptic plasticity damages, which help better understand the underlying mechanism of olfactory neural network damages related to AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Yan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Ailikemu Aierken
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Chunjian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Da Song
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Junjun Ni
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Zhe Wang
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, The National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disease, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenzhen Quan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China.
| | - Hong Qing
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China.
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31
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Zhou J, Gardner MPH, Schoenbaum G. Is the core function of orbitofrontal cortex to signal values or make predictions? Curr Opin Behav Sci 2021; 41:1-9. [PMID: 33869678 PMCID: PMC8052096 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
One dominant hypothesis about the function of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is that the OFC signals the subjective values of possible outcomes to other brain areas for learning and decision making. This popular view generally neglects the fact that OFC is not necessary for simple value-based behavior (i.e., when values have been directly experienced). An alternative, emerging view suggests that OFC plays a more general role in representing structural information about the task or environment, derived from prior experience, and relevant to predicting behavioral outcomes, such as value. From this perspective, value signaling is simply one derivative of the core underlying function of OFC. New data in favor of both views have been accumulating rapidly. Here we review these new data in discussing the relative merits of these two ideas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingfeng Zhou
- Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore MD, USA
| | - Matthew P H Gardner
- Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore MD, USA
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore MD, USA
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32
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Over-representation of fundamental decision variables in the prefrontal cortex underlies decision bias. Neurosci Res 2021; 173:1-13. [PMID: 34274406 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2021.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The brain is organized into anatomically distinct structures consisting of a variety of projection neurons. While such evolutionarily conserved neural circuit organization underlies the innate ability of animals to swiftly adapt to environments, they can cause biased cognition and behavior. Although recent studies have begun to address the causal importance of projection-neuron types as distinct computational units, it remains unclear how projection types are functionally organized in encoding variables during cognitive tasks. This review focuses on the neural computation of decision making in the prefrontal cortex and discusses what decision variables are encoded by single neurons, neuronal populations, and projection type, alongside how specific projection types constrain decision making. We focus particularly on "over-representations" of distinct decision variables in the prefrontal cortex that reflect the biological and subjective significance of the variables for the decision makers. We suggest that task-specific over-representation in the prefrontal cortex involves the refinement of the given decision making, while generalized over-representation of fundamental decision variables is associated with suboptimal decision biases, including pathological ones such as those in patients with psychiatric disorders. Such over-representation of the fundamental decision variables in the prefrontal cortex appear to be tightly constrained by afferent and efferent connections that can be optogenetically intervened on. These ideas may provide critical insights into potential therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders, including addiction and depression.
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33
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Costa KM, Sengupta A, Schoenbaum G. The orbitofrontal cortex is necessary for learning to ignore. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2652-2657.e3. [PMID: 33848459 PMCID: PMC8222097 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Animals learn not only what is potentially useful but also what is meaningless and should be disregarded. How this is accomplished is a key but seldom explored question in psychology and neuroscience. Learning to ignore irrelevant cues is evident in latent inhibition-the ubiquitous phenomenon where presenting a cue several times without consequences leads to retardation of subsequent conditioning to that cue.1,2 Does learning to ignore these cues, because they predict nothing, involve the same neural circuits that are critical to learning to make predictions about other "real world" impending events? If so, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), as a key node in such networks, should be important.3 Specifically, the OFC has been hypothesized to participate in the recognition of hidden task states, which are not directly signaled by explicit outcomes.4 Evaluating its involvement in pre-exposure learning during latent inhibition would be an acid test for this hypothesis. Here, we report that selective chemogenetic inactivation of rat orbitofrontal cortex principal neurons during stimulus pre-exposure markedly reduces latent inhibition in subsequent conditioning. Inactivation only during pre-exposure ensured that the observed effects were due to an impact on the acquisition of information prior to its use in any sort of behavior, i.e., during latent learning. Further behavioral tests confirmed this, showing that the impact of OFC inactivation during pre-exposure was limited to the latent inhibition effect. These results demonstrate that the OFC is important for latent learning and the formation of associations even in the absence of explicit outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kauê Machado Costa
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
| | - Ayesha Sengupta
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
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34
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Le Merre P, Ährlund-Richter S, Carlén M. The mouse prefrontal cortex: Unity in diversity. Neuron 2021; 109:1925-1944. [PMID: 33894133 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.03.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is considered to constitute the highest stage of neural integration and to be devoted to representation and production of actions. Studies in primates have laid the foundation for theories regarding the principles of prefrontal function and provided mechanistic insights. The recent surge of studies of the PFC in mice holds promise for evolvement of present theories and development of novel concepts, particularly regarding principles shared across mammals. Here we review recent empirical work on the mouse PFC capitalizing on the experimental toolbox currently privileged to studies in this species. We conclude that this line of research has revealed cellular and structural distinctions of the PFC and neuronal activity with direct relevance to theories regarding the functions of the PFC. We foresee that data-rich mouse studies will be key to shed light on the general prefrontal architecture and mechanisms underlying cognitive aspects of organized actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Le Merre
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Marie Carlén
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, 141 83 Huddinge, Sweden.
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35
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Abstract
In 2005, the Moser group identified a new type of cell in the entorhinal cortex (ERC): the grid cell (Hafting, Nature, 436, 2005, pp. 801-806). A landmark series of studies from these investigators showed that grid cells support spatial navigation by encoding position, direction as well as distance information, and they subsequently found grid cells in pre- and para-subiculum areas adjacent to the ERC (Boccara, Nature Neuroscience, 13, 2010, pp. 987-994). Fast forward to 2010, when some clever investigators developed fMRI analysis methods to document grid-like responses in the human ERC (Doeller, Nature, 463, 2010, pp. 657-661). What was not at all expected was the co-identification of grid-like fMRI responses outside of the ERC, in particular, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Here we provide a compact overview of the burgeoning literature on grid cells in both rodent and human species, while considering the intriguing question: what are grid-like responses doing in the OFC and vmPFC? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara U. Raithel
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Hamilton Walk, Stemmler Hall, Room G10, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 425 S. University Avenue, Stephen A. Levin Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Jay A. Gottfried
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Hamilton Walk, Stemmler Hall, Room G10, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 425 S. University Avenue, Stephen A. Levin Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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36
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Banerjee A, Rikhye RV, Marblestone A. Reinforcement-guided learning in frontal neocortex: emerging computational concepts. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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37
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Panayi MC, Killcross S. The Role of the Rodent Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex in Simple Pavlovian Cue-Outcome Learning Depends on Training Experience. Cereb Cortex Commun 2021; 2:tgab010. [PMID: 34296155 PMCID: PMC8152875 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgab010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a critical structure in the flexible control of value-based behaviors. OFC dysfunction is typically only detected when task or environmental contingencies change, against a backdrop of apparently intact initial acquisition and behavior. While intact acquisition following OFC lesions in simple Pavlovian cue-outcome conditioning is often predicted by models of OFC function, this predicted null effect has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we test the effects of lesions and temporary muscimol inactivation of the rodent lateral OFC on the acquisition of a simple single cue-outcome relationship. Surprisingly, pretraining lesions significantly enhanced acquisition after overtraining, whereas post-training lesions and inactivation significantly impaired acquisition. This impaired acquisition to the cue reflects a disruption of behavioral control and not learning since the cue could also act as an effective blocking stimulus in an associative blocking procedure. These findings suggest that even simple cue-outcome representations acquired in the absence of OFC function are impoverished. Therefore, while OFC function is often associated with flexible behavioral control in complex environments, it is also involved in very simple Pavlovian acquisition where complex cue-outcome relationships are irrelevant to task performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marios C Panayi
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Cellular Neurobiology Research Branch, Behavioral Neurophysiology Research Section, 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Simon Killcross
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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38
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Blazing RM, Franks KM. Odor coding in piriform cortex: mechanistic insights into distributed coding. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 64:96-102. [PMID: 32422571 PMCID: PMC8782565 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Olfaction facilitates a large variety of animal behaviors such as feeding, mating, and communication. Recent work has begun to reveal the logic of odor transformations that occur throughout the olfactory system to form the odor percept. In this review, we describe the coding principles and mechanisms by which the piriform cortex and other olfactory areas encode three key odor features: odor identity, intensity, and valence. We argue that the piriform cortex produces a multiplexed odor code that allows non-interfering representations of distinct features of the odor stimulus to facilitate odor recognition and learning, which ultimately drives behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin M Blazing
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, 27705, United States
| | - Kevin M Franks
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, 27705, United States.
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