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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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2
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Powell A, Hanna C, Sajjad M, Yao R, Blum K, Gold MS, Quattrin T, Thanos PK. Exercise Influences the Brain's Metabolic Response to Chronic Cocaine Exposure in Male Rats. J Pers Med 2024; 14:500. [PMID: 38793082 PMCID: PMC11122626 DOI: 10.3390/jpm14050500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Cocaine use is associated with negative health outcomes: cocaine use disorders, speedballing, and overdose deaths. Currently, treatments for cocaine use disorders and overdose are non-existent when compared to opioid use disorders, and current standard cocaine use disorder treatments have high dropout and recidivism rates. Physical exercise has been shown to attenuate addiction behavior as well as modulate brain activity. This study examined the differential effects of chronic cocaine use between exercised and sedentary rats. The effects of exercise on brain glucose metabolism (BGluM) following chronic cocaine exposure were assessed using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and [18F]-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Compared to sedentary animals, exercise decreased metabolism in the SIBF primary somatosensory cortex. Activation occurred in the amygdalopiriform and piriform cortex, trigeminothalamic tract, rhinal and perirhinal cortex, and visual cortex. BGluM changes may help ameliorate various aspects of cocaine abuse and reinstatement. Further investigation is needed into the underlying neuronal circuits involved in BGluM changes and their association with addiction behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aidan Powell
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Clinical Research Institute on Addictions, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; (A.P.); (C.H.)
| | - Colin Hanna
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Clinical Research Institute on Addictions, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; (A.P.); (C.H.)
| | - Munawwar Sajjad
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA; (M.S.); (R.Y.)
| | - Rutao Yao
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA; (M.S.); (R.Y.)
| | - Kenneth Blum
- Center for Sports, Exercise, and Mental Health, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA 91766, USA;
- Department of Molecular Biology, Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel
| | - Mark S. Gold
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA;
| | - Teresa Quattrin
- UBMD Pediatrics, JR Oishei Children’s Hospital, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA;
| | - Panayotis K. Thanos
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Clinical Research Institute on Addictions, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; (A.P.); (C.H.)
- Department of Molecular Biology, Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel
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3
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Liu B, Qin S, Murthy V, Tu Y. One nose but two nostrils: Learn to align with sparse connections between two olfactory cortices. ARXIV 2024:arXiv:2405.03602v1. [PMID: 38764587 PMCID: PMC11100918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
The integration of neural representations in the two hemispheres is an important problem in neuroscience. Recent experiments revealed that odor responses in cortical neurons driven by separate stimulation of the two nostrils are highly correlated. This bilateral alignment points to structured inter-hemispheric connections, but detailed mechanism remains unclear. Here, we hypothesized that continuous exposure to environmental odors shapes these projections and modeled it as online learning with local Hebbian rule. We found that Hebbian learning with sparse connections achieves bilateral alignment, exhibiting a linear trade-off between speed and accuracy. We identified an inverse scaling relationship between the number of cortical neurons and the inter-hemispheric projection density required for desired alignment accuracy, i.e., more cortical neurons allow sparser inter-hemispheric projections. We next compared the alignment performance of local Hebbian rule and the global stochastic-gradient-descent (SGD) learning for artificial neural networks. We found that although SGD leads to the same alignment accuracy with modestly sparser connectivity, the same inverse scaling relation holds. We showed that their similar performance originates from the fact that the update vectors of the two learning rules align significantly throughout the learning process. This insight may inspire efficient sparse local learning algorithms for more complex problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Liu
- Center for Brain Science and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Shanshan Qin
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Present address: Center for Computational Neuroscience, Flatiron Institute, New York, NY 10010, USA
| | - Venkatesh Murthy
- Center for Brain Science and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Yuhai Tu
- IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, USA
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Tudi A, Yao M, Tang F, Zhou J, Li A, Gong H, Jiang T, Li X. Subregion preference in the long-range connectome of pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex. BMC Biol 2024; 22:95. [PMID: 38679719 PMCID: PMC11057135 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-024-01880-7] [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: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in complex functions containing multiple types of neurons in distinct subregions with preferential roles. The pyramidal neurons had wide-range projections to cortical and subcortical regions with subregional preferences. Using a combination of viral tracing and fluorescence micro-optical sectioning tomography (fMOST) in transgenic mice, we systematically dissected the whole-brain connectomes of intratelencephalic (IT) and pyramidal tract (PT) neurons in four mPFC subregions. RESULTS IT and PT neurons of the same subregion projected to different target areas while receiving inputs from similar upstream regions with quantitative differences. IT and PT neurons all project to the amygdala and basal forebrain, but their axons target different subregions. Compared to subregions in the prelimbic area (PL) which have more connections with sensorimotor-related regions, the infralimbic area (ILA) has stronger connections with limbic regions. The connection pattern of the mPFC subregions along the anterior-posterior axis showed a corresponding topological pattern with the isocortex and amygdala but an opposite orientation correspondence with the thalamus. CONCLUSIONS By using transgenic mice and fMOST imaging, we obtained the subregional preference whole-brain connectomes of IT and pyramidal tract PT neurons in the mPFC four subregions. These results provide a comprehensive resource for directing research into the complex functions of the mPFC by offering anatomical dissections of the different subregions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayizuohere Tudi
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Mei Yao
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Feifang Tang
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jiandong Zhou
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Anan Li
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- HUST-Suzhou Institute for Brainsmatics, JITRI, Suzhou, China
| | - Hui Gong
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- HUST-Suzhou Institute for Brainsmatics, JITRI, Suzhou, China
| | - Tao Jiang
- HUST-Suzhou Institute for Brainsmatics, JITRI, Suzhou, China.
| | - Xiangning Li
- HUST-Suzhou Institute for Brainsmatics, JITRI, Suzhou, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou, China.
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Okumura T, Kida I, Yokoi A, Nakai T, Nishimoto S, Touhara K, Okamoto M. Semantic context-dependent neural representations of odors in the human piriform cortex revealed by 7T MRI. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26681. [PMID: 38656060 PMCID: PMC11041378 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26681] [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: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Olfactory perception depends not only on olfactory inputs but also on semantic context. Although multi-voxel activity patterns of the piriform cortex, a part of the primary olfactory cortex, have been shown to represent odor perception, it remains unclear whether semantic contexts modulate odor representation in this region. Here, we investigated whether multi-voxel activity patterns in the piriform cortex change when semantic context modulates odor perception and, if so, whether the modulated areas communicate with brain regions involved in semantic and memory processing beyond the piriform cortex. We also explored regional differences within the piriform cortex, which are influenced by olfactory input and semantic context. We used 2 × 2 combinations of word labels and odorants that were perceived as congruent and measured piriform activity with a 1-mm isotropic resolution using 7T MRI. We found that identical odorants labeled with different words were perceived differently. This labeling effect was observed in multi-voxel activity patterns in the piriform cortex, as the searchlight decoding analysis distinguished identical odors with different labels for half of the examined stimulus pairs. Significant functional connectivity was observed between parts of the piriform cortex that were modulated by labels and regions associated with semantic and memory processing. While the piriform multi-voxel patterns evoked by different olfactory inputs were also distinguishable, the decoding accuracy was significant for only one stimulus pair, preventing definitive conclusions regarding the locational differences between areas influenced by word labels and olfactory inputs. These results suggest that multi-voxel patterns of piriform activity can be modulated by semantic context, possibly due to communication between the piriform cortex and the semantic and memory regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiki Okumura
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of TokyoTokyoJapan
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)OsakaJapan
| | - Ikuhiro Kida
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)OsakaJapan
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka UniversityOsakaJapan
| | - Atsushi Yokoi
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)OsakaJapan
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka UniversityOsakaJapan
| | - Tomoya Nakai
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)OsakaJapan
| | - Shinji Nishimoto
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)OsakaJapan
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka UniversityOsakaJapan
| | - Kazushige Touhara
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of TokyoTokyoJapan
- International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI‐IRCN), Institutes for Advanced Study, The University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| | - Masako Okamoto
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of TokyoTokyoJapan
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Shahsavar P, Ghazvineh S, Raoufy MR. From nasal respiration to brain dynamic. Rev Neurosci 2024; 0:revneuro-2023-0152. [PMID: 38579456 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2023-0152] [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: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
While breathing is a vital, involuntary physiological function, the mode of respiration, particularly nasal breathing, exerts a profound influence on brain activity and cognitive processes. This review synthesizes existing research on the interactions between nasal respiration and the entrainment of oscillations across brain regions involved in cognition. The rhythmic activation of olfactory sensory neurons during nasal respiration is linked to oscillations in widespread brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and parietal cortex, as well as the piriform cortex. The phase-locking of neural oscillations to the respiratory cycle, through nasal breathing, enhances brain inter-regional communication and is associated with cognitive abilities like memory. Understanding the nasal breathing impact on brain networks offers opportunities to explore novel methods for targeting the olfactory pathway as a means to enhance emotional and cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Payam Shahsavar
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, 41616 Tarbiat Modares University , Jalal AleAhmad, Nasr, P.O. Box: 14115-111, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sepideh Ghazvineh
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, 41616 Tarbiat Modares University , Jalal AleAhmad, Nasr, P.O. Box: 14115-111, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Raoufy
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, 41616 Tarbiat Modares University , Jalal AleAhmad, Nasr, P.O. Box: 14115-111, Tehran, Iran
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, 41616 Institute for Brain Sciences and Cognition, Tarbiat Modares University , Jalal AleAhmad, Nasr, P.O. Box: 14115-111, Tehran, Iran
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7
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Deloulme JC, Leclercq M, Deschaux O, Flore G, Capellano L, Tocco C, Braz BY, Studer M, Lahrech H. Structural interhemispheric connectivity defects in mouse models of BBSOAS: Insights from high spatial resolution 3D white matter tractography. Neurobiol Dis 2024; 193:106455. [PMID: 38408685 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2024.106455] [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: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
White matter (WM) tract formation and axonal pathfinding are major processes in brain development allowing to establish precise connections between targeted structures. Disruptions in axon pathfinding and connectivity impairments will lead to neural circuitry abnormalities, often associated with various neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Among several neuroimaging methodologies, Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that has the advantage of visualizing in 3D the WM tractography of the whole brain non-invasively. DTI is particularly valuable in unpinning structural tract connectivity defects of neural networks in NDDs. In this study, we used 3D DTI to unveil brain-specific tract defects in two mouse models lacking the Nr2f1 gene, which mutations in patients have been proven to cause an emerging NDD, called Bosch-Boonstra-Schaaf Optic Atrophy (BBSOAS). We aimed to investigate the impact of the lack of cortical Nr2f1 function on WM morphometry and tract microstructure quantifications. We found in both mutant mice partial loss of fibers and severe misrouting of the two major cortical commissural tracts, the corpus callosum, and the anterior commissure, as well as the two major hippocampal efferent tracts, the post-commissural fornix, and the ventral hippocampal commissure. DTI tract malformations were supported by 2D histology, 3D fluorescent imaging, and behavioral analyses. We propose that these interhemispheric connectivity impairments are consistent in explaining some cognitive defects described in BBSOAS patients, particularly altered information processing between the two brain hemispheres. Finally, our results highlight 3DDTI as a relevant neuroimaging modality that can provide appropriate morphometric biomarkers for further diagnosis of BBSOAS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Olivier Deschaux
- University Côte d'Azur (UCA), CNRS, Inserm, Institute of Biology Valrose (iBV), Nice, France
| | - Gemma Flore
- Institute of Genetics and Biophysics "Adriano Buzzati Traverso", CNR, Napoli, Italy
| | - Laetitia Capellano
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institute Neurosciences, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Chiara Tocco
- University Côte d'Azur (UCA), CNRS, Inserm, Institute of Biology Valrose (iBV), Nice, France
| | - Barbara Yael Braz
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institute Neurosciences, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Michèle Studer
- University Côte d'Azur (UCA), CNRS, Inserm, Institute of Biology Valrose (iBV), Nice, France.
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8
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Liu P, Gao C, Wu J, Wu T, Zhang Y, Liu C, Sun C, Li A. Negative valence encoding in the lateral entorhinal cortex during aversive olfactory learning. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113204. [PMID: 37804511 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113204] [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: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Olfactory learning is widely regarded as a substrate for animal survival. The exact brain areas involved in olfactory learning and how they function at various stages during learning remain elusive. Here, we investigate the role of the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) and the posterior piriform cortex (PPC), two important olfactory areas, in aversive olfactory learning. We find that the LEC is involved in the acquisition of negative odor value during olfactory fear conditioning, whereas the PPC is involved in the memory-retrieval phase. Furthermore, inhibition of LEC CaMKIIα+ neurons affects fear encoding, fear memory recall, and PPC responses to a conditioned odor. These findings provide direct evidence for the involvement of LEC CaMKIIα+ neurons in negative valence encoding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Penglai Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease and Bioinformation, Research Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, China
| | - Cheng Gao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease and Bioinformation, Research Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, China
| | - Jing Wu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease and Bioinformation, Research Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, China
| | - Tingting Wu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease and Bioinformation, Research Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease and Bioinformation, Research Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, China
| | - Changyu Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease and Bioinformation, Research Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, China
| | - Changcheng Sun
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease and Bioinformation, Research Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, China.
| | - Anan Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease and Bioinformation, Research Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, China.
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9
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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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10
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Li C, Kühn NK, Alkislar I, Sans-Dublanc A, Zemmouri F, Paesmans S, Calzoni A, Ooms F, Reinhard K, Farrow K. Pathway-specific inputs to the superior colliculus support flexible responses to visual threat. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade3874. [PMID: 37647395 PMCID: PMC10468139 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade3874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Behavioral flexibility requires directing feedforward sensory information to appropriate targets. In the superior colliculus, divergent outputs orchestrate different responses to visual threats, but the circuit organization enabling the flexible routing of sensory information remains unknown. To determine this structure, we focused on inhibitory projection (Gad2) neurons. Trans-synaptic tracing and neuronal recordings revealed that Gad2 neurons projecting to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and the parabigeminal nucleus (PBG) form two separate populations, each receiving a different set of non-retinal inputs. Inhibiting the LGN- or PBG-projecting Gad2 neurons resulted in opposing effects on behavior; increasing freezing or escape probability to visual looming, respectively. Optogenetic activation of selected inputs to the LGN- and PBG-projecting Gad2 cells predictably regulated responses to visual threat. These data suggest that projection-specific sampling of brain-wide inputs provides a circuit design principle that enables visual inputs to be selectively routed to produce context-specific behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Li
- Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Norma K. Kühn
- Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ilayda Alkislar
- Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Arnau Sans-Dublanc
- Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Firdaouss Zemmouri
- Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical, and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Soraya Paesmans
- Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alex Calzoni
- Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Frédérique Ooms
- Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Imec, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Katja Reinhard
- Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Karl Farrow
- Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Imec, Leuven, Belgium
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11
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Bouaichi CG, Odegaard KE, Neese C, Vincis R. Intraoral thermal processing in the gustatory cortex of awake mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.06.526681. [PMID: 36798208 PMCID: PMC9934522 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.06.526681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
Oral temperature is a sensory cue relevant to food preference and nutrition. To understand how orally-sourced thermal inputs are represented in the gustatory cortex (GC) we recorded neural responses from the GC of male and female mice presented with deionized water at different innocuous temperatures (14 °C, 25 °C, 36 °C) and taste stimuli (room temperature). Our results demonstrate that GC neurons encode orally-sourced thermal information in the absence of classical taste qualities at the single neuron and population levels, as confirmed through additional experiments comparing GC neuron responses to water and artificial saliva. Analysis of thermal-evoked responses showed broadly tuned neurons that responded to temperature in a mostly monotonic manner. Spatial location may play a minor role regarding thermosensory activity; aside from the most ventral GC, neurons reliably responded to and encoded thermal information across the dorso-ventral and antero-postero cortical axes. Additional analysis revealed that more than half of GC neurons that encoded chemosensory taste stimuli also accurately discriminated thermal information, providing additional evidence of the GC's involvement in processing thermosensory information important for ingestive behaviors. In terms of convergence, we found that GC neurons encoding information about both taste and temperature were broadly tuned and carried more information than taste-selective only neurons; both groups encoded similar information about the palatability of stimuli. Altogether, our data reveal new details of the cortical code for the mammalian intraoral thermosensory system in behaving mice and pave the way for future investigations on GC functions and operational principles with respect to thermogustation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia G Bouaichi
- Florida State University, Department of Biological Science and Programs in Neuroscience, Cell and Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
| | - Katherine E Odegaard
- Florida State University, Department of Biological Science and Programs in Neuroscience, Cell and Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
| | - Camden Neese
- Florida State University, Department of Biological Science and Programs in Neuroscience, Cell and Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
| | - Roberto Vincis
- Florida State University, Department of Biological Science and Programs in Neuroscience, Molecular Biophysics and Cell and Molecular Biology
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12
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Patterning the cerebral cortex into distinct functional domains during development. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2023; 80:102698. [PMID: 36893490 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2023.102698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
The cerebral cortex is compartmentalized into multiple regions, including the newly evolved neocortex and evolutionarily older paleocortex and archicortex. These broad cortical regions can be further subdivided into different functional domains, each with its own unique cytoarchitecture and distinct set of input and output projections to perform specific functions. While many excitatory projection neurons show region-specific gene expression profiles, the cells are derived from the seemingly uniform progenitors in the dorsal telencephalon. Much progress has been made in defining the genetic mechanisms involved in generating the morphological and functional diversity of the central nervous system. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of mouse corticogenesis and discuss key events involved in cortical patterning during early developmental stages.
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13
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Organizational Principles of the Centrifugal Projections to the Olfactory Bulb. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054579. [PMID: 36902010 PMCID: PMC10002860 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054579] [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: 12/25/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Centrifugal projections in the olfactory system are critical to both olfactory processing and behavior. The olfactory bulb (OB), the first relay station in odor processing, receives a substantial number of centrifugal inputs from the central brain regions. However, the anatomical organization of these centrifugal connections has not been fully elucidated, especially for the excitatory projection neurons of the OB, the mitral/tufted cells (M/TCs). Using rabies virus-mediated retrograde monosynaptic tracing in Thy1-Cre mice, we identified that the three most prominent inputs of the M/TCs came from the anterior olfactory nucleus (AON), the piriform cortex (PC), and the basal forebrain (BF), similar to the granule cells (GCs), the most abundant population of inhibitory interneurons in the OB. However, M/TCs received proportionally less input from the primary olfactory cortical areas, including the AON and PC, but more input from the BF and contralateral brain regions than GCs. Unlike organizationally distinct inputs from the primary olfactory cortical areas to these two types of OB neurons, inputs from the BF were organized similarly. Furthermore, individual BF cholinergic neurons innervated multiple layers of the OB, forming synapses on both M/TCs and GCs. Taken together, our results indicate that the centrifugal projections to different types of OB neurons may provide complementary and coordinated strategies in olfactory processing and behavior.
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14
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Bouaichi CG, Odegaard KE, Neese C, Vincis R. Oral thermal processing in the gustatory cortex of awake mice. Chem Senses 2023; 48:bjad042. [PMID: 37850853 PMCID: PMC10630187 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjad042] [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: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Oral temperature is a sensory cue relevant to food preference and nutrition. To understand how orally sourced thermal inputs are represented in the gustatory cortex (GC), we recorded neural responses from the GC of male and female mice presented with deionized water at different innocuous temperatures (14 °C, 25 °C, and 36 °C) and taste stimuli (room temperature). Our results demonstrate that GC neurons encode orally sourced thermal information in the absence of classical taste qualities at the single neuron and population levels, as confirmed through additional experiments comparing GC neuron responses to water and artificial saliva. Analysis of thermal-evoked responses showed broadly tuned neurons that responded to temperature in a mostly monotonic manner. Spatial location may play a minor role regarding thermosensory activity; aside from the most ventral GC, neurons reliably responded to and encoded thermal information across the dorso-ventral and antero-postero cortical axes. Additional analysis revealed that more than half of the GC neurons that encoded chemosensory taste stimuli also accurately discriminated thermal information, providing additional evidence of the GC's involvement in processing thermosensory information important for ingestive behaviors. In terms of convergence, we found that GC neurons encoding information about both taste and temperature were broadly tuned and carried more information than taste-selective-only neurons; both groups encoded similar information about the palatability of stimuli. Altogether, our data reveal new details of the cortical code for the mammalian oral thermosensory system in behaving mice and pave the way for future investigations on GC functions and operational principles with respect to thermogustation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia G Bouaichi
- Department of Biological Science and Programs in Neuroscience, Cell and Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
| | - Katherine E Odegaard
- Department of Biological Science and Programs in Neuroscience, Cell and Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
| | - Camden Neese
- Department of Biological Science and Programs in Neuroscience, Cell and Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
| | - Roberto Vincis
- Department of Biological Science and Programs in Neuroscience, Molecular Biophysics and Cell and Molecular Biology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
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15
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Chen Y, Chen X, Baserdem B, Zhan H, Li Y, Davis MB, Kebschull JM, Zador AM, Koulakov AA, Albeanu DF. High-throughput sequencing of single neuron projections reveals spatial organization in the olfactory cortex. Cell 2022; 185:4117-4134.e28. [PMID: 36306734 PMCID: PMC9681627 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.09.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
In most sensory modalities, neuronal connectivity reflects behaviorally relevant stimulus features, such as spatial location, orientation, and sound frequency. By contrast, the prevailing view in the olfactory cortex, based on the reconstruction of dozens of neurons, is that connectivity is random. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing-based neuroanatomical techniques to analyze the projections of 5,309 mouse olfactory bulb and 30,433 piriform cortex output neurons at single-cell resolution. Surprisingly, statistical analysis of this much larger dataset revealed that the olfactory cortex connectivity is spatially structured. Single olfactory bulb neurons targeting a particular location along the anterior-posterior axis of piriform cortex also project to matched, functionally distinct, extra-piriform targets. Moreover, single neurons from the targeted piriform locus also project to the same matched extra-piriform targets, forming triadic circuit motifs. Thus, as in other sensory modalities, olfactory information is routed at early stages of processing to functionally diverse targets in a coordinated manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yushu Chen
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - Xiaoyin Chen
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | | | - Huiqing Zhan
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - Yan Li
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - Martin B Davis
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | | | - Anthony M Zador
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA.
| | | | - Dinu F Albeanu
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA.
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16
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Social defeat drives hyperexcitation of the piriform cortex to induce learning and memory impairment but not mood-related disorders in mice. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:380. [PMID: 36088395 PMCID: PMC9464232 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02151-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Clinical studies have shown that social defeat is an important cause of mood-related disorders, accompanied by learning and memory impairment in humans. The mechanism of mood-related disorders has been widely studied. However, the specific neural network involved in learning and memory impairment caused by social defeat remains unclear. In this study, behavioral test results showed that the mice induced both learning and memory impairments and mood-related disorders after exposure to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). c-Fos immunofluorescence and fiber photometry recording confirmed that CaMKIIα expressing neurons of the piriform cortex (PC) were selectively activated by exposure to CSDS. Next, chemogenetics and optogenetics were performed to activate PC CaMKIIα expressing neurons, which showed learning and memory impairment but not mood-related disorders. Furthermore, chemogenetic inhibition of PC CaMKIIα expressing neurons significantly alleviated learning and memory impairment induced by exposure to CSDS but did not relieve mood-related disorders. Therefore, our data suggest that the overactivation of PC CaMKIIα expressing neurons mediates CSDS-induced learning and memory impairment, but not mood-related disorders, and provides a potential therapeutic target for learning and memory impairment induced by social defeat.
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17
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Stensola T, Stensola H. Understanding Categorical Learning in Neural Circuits Through the Primary Olfactory Cortex. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16:920334. [PMID: 35813505 PMCID: PMC9263292 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2022.920334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowing which elements in the environment are associated with various opportunities and dangers is advantageous. A major role of mammalian sensory systems is to provide information about the identity of such elements which can then be used for adaptive action planning by the animal. Identity-tuned sensory representations are categorical, invariant to nuances in the sensory stream and depend on associative learning. Although categorical representations are well documented across several sensory modalities, these tend to situate synaptically far from the sensory organs which reduces experimenter control over input-output transformations. The formation of such representations is a fundamental neural computation that remains poorly understood. Odor representations in the primary olfactory cortex have several characteristics that qualify them as categorical and identity-tuned, situated only two synapses away from the sensory epithelium. The formation of categorical representations is likely critically dependent on—and dynamically controlled by—recurrent circuitry within the primary olfactory cortex itself. Experiments suggest that the concerted activity of several neuromodulatory systems plays a decisive role in shaping categorical learning through complex interactions with recurrent activity and plasticity in primary olfactory cortex circuits. In this perspective we discuss missing pieces of the categorical learning puzzle, and why several features of olfaction make it an attractive model system for this challenge.
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18
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Rajani V, Yuan Q. Noradrenergic Modulation of the Piriform Cortex: A Possible Avenue for Understanding Pre-Clinical Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16:908758. [PMID: 35722616 PMCID: PMC9204642 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2022.908758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Olfactory dysfunction is one of the biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) diagnosis and progression. Deficits with odor identification and discrimination are common symptoms of pre-clinical AD, preceding severe memory disorder observed in advanced stages. As a result, understanding mechanisms of olfactory impairment is a major focus in both human studies and animal models of AD. Pretangle tau, a precursor to tau tangles, is first observed in the locus coeruleus (LC). In a recent animal model, LC pretangle tau leads to LC fiber degeneration in the piriform cortex (PC), a cortical area associated with olfactory dysfunction in both human AD and rodent models. Here, we review the role of LC-sourced NE in modulation of PC activity and suggest mechanisms by which pretangle tau-mediated LC dysfunction may impact olfactory processing in preclinical stage of AD. Understanding mechanisms of early olfactory impairment in AD may provide a critical window for detection and intervention of disease progression.
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19
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Matsukawa M, Yoshikawa M, Katsuyama N, Aizawa S, Sato T. The Anterior Piriform Cortex and Predator Odor Responses: Modulation by Inhibitory Circuits. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:896525. [PMID: 35571276 PMCID: PMC9097892 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.896525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Rodents acquire more information from the sense of smell than humans because they have a nearly fourfold greater variety of olfactory receptors. They use olfactory information not only for obtaining food, but also for detecting environmental dangers. Predator-derived odor compounds provoke instinctive fear and stress reactions in animals. Inbred lines of experimental animals react in an innate stereotypical manner to predators even without prior exposure. Predator odors have also been used in models of various neuropsychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder following a life-threatening event. Although several brain regions have been reported to be involved in predator odor-induced stress responses, in this mini review, we focus on the functional role of inhibitory neural circuits, especially in the anterior piriform cortex (APC). We also discuss the changes in these neural circuits following innate reactions to odor exposure. Furthermore, based on the three types of modulation of the stress response observed by our group using the synthetic fox odorant 2,5-dihydro-2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline, we describe how the APC interacts with other brain regions to regulate the stress response. Finally, we discuss the potential therapeutic application of odors in the treatment of stress-related disorders. A clearer understanding of the odor–stress response is needed to allow targeted modulation of the monoaminergic system and of the intracerebral inhibitory networks. It would be improved the quality of life of those who have stress-related conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mutsumi Matsukawa
- Division of Anatomical Science, Department of Functional Morphology, Nihon University School of Medicine, Itabashi, Japan
- *Correspondence: Mutsumi Matsukawa,
| | - Masaaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Anatomical Science, Department of Functional Morphology, Nihon University School of Medicine, Itabashi, Japan
| | - Narumi Katsuyama
- Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Shin Aizawa
- Division of Anatomical Science, Department of Functional Morphology, Nihon University School of Medicine, Itabashi, Japan
| | - Takaaki Sato
- Biomedical Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Ikeda, Japan
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20
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Brain-Wide Synaptic Inputs to Aromatase-Expressing Neurons in the Medial Amygdala Suggest Complex Circuitry for Modulating Social Behavior. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0329-21.2021. [PMID: 35074828 PMCID: PMC8925724 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0329-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Revised: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we reveal an unbiased view of the brain regions that provide specific inputs to aromatase-expressing cells in the medial amygdala, neurons that play an outsized role in the production of sex-specific social behaviors, using rabies tracing and light sheet microscopy. While the downstream projections from these cells are known, the specific inputs to the aromatase-expressing cells in the medial amygdala remained unknown. We observed established connections to the medial amygdala (e.g., bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and accessory olfactory bulb) indicating that aromatase neurons are a major target cell type for efferent input including from regions associated with parenting and aggression. We also identified novel and unexpected inputs from areas involved in metabolism, fear and anxiety, and memory and cognition. These results confirm the central role of the medial amygdala in sex-specific social recognition and social behavior, and point to an expanded role for its aromatase-expressing neurons in the integration of multiple sensory and homeostatic factors, which are likely used to modulate many other social behaviors.
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21
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Poo C, Agarwal G, Bonacchi N, Mainen ZF. Spatial maps in piriform cortex during olfactory navigation. Nature 2021; 601:595-599. [PMID: 34937941 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04242-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Odours are a fundamental part of the sensory environment used by animals to guide behaviours such as foraging and navigation1,2. Primary olfactory (piriform) cortex is thought to be the main cortical region for encoding odour identity3-8. Here, using neural ensemble recordings in freely moving rats performing an odour-cued spatial choice task, we show that posterior piriform cortex neurons carry a robust spatial representation of the environment. Piriform spatial representations have features of a learned cognitive map, being most prominent near odour ports, stable across behavioural contexts and independent of olfactory drive or reward availability. The accuracy of spatial information carried by individual piriform neurons was predicted by the strength of their functional coupling to the hippocampal theta rhythm. Ensembles of piriform neurons concurrently represented odour identity as well as spatial locations of animals, forming an odour-place map. Our results reveal a function for piriform cortex in spatial cognition and suggest that it is well-suited to form odour-place associations and guide olfactory-cued spatial navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cindy Poo
- Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Gautam Agarwal
- W. M. Keck Science Center, The Claremont Colleges, Claremont, CA, USA
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22
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Konkoly J, Kormos V, Gaszner B, Sándor Z, Kecskés A, Alomari A, Szilágyi A, Szilágyi B, Zelena D, Pintér E. The Role of TRPA1 Channels in the Central Processing of Odours Contributing to the Behavioural Responses of Mice. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021; 14:ph14121336. [PMID: 34959735 PMCID: PMC8703823 DOI: 10.3390/ph14121336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), a nonselective cation channel, contributes to several (patho)physiological processes. Smell loss is an early sign in several neurodegenerative disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases; therefore, we focused on its role in olfaction and social behaviour with the aim to reveal its potential therapeutic use. The presence of Trpa1 mRNA was studied along the olfactory tract of mice by combined RNAscope in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry. The aversive effects of fox and cat odour were examined in parallel with stress hormone levels. In vitro calcium imaging was applied to test if these substances can directly activate TRPA1 receptors. The role of TRPA1 in social behaviour was investigated by comparing Trpa1 wild-type and knockout mice (KO). Trpa1 mRNA was detected in the olfactory bulb and piriform cortex, while its expression was weak in the olfactory epithelium. Fox, but not cat odour directly activated TRPA1 channels in TRPA1-overexpressing Chinese Hamster Ovary cell lines. Accordingly, KO animals showed less aversion against fox, but not cat odour. The social interest of KO mice was reduced during social habituation–dishabituation and social interaction, but not during resident–intruder tests. TRPA1 may contribute to odour processing at several points of the olfactory tract and may play an important role in shaping the social behaviour of mice. Thus, TRPA1 may influence the development of certain social disorders, serving as a potential drug target in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- János Konkoly
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (J.K.); (V.K.); (Z.S.); (A.K.); (A.A.)
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (B.G.); (D.Z.)
| | - Viktória Kormos
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (J.K.); (V.K.); (Z.S.); (A.K.); (A.A.)
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (B.G.); (D.Z.)
- Research Group for Mood Disorders, Department of Anatomy, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary
| | - Balázs Gaszner
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (B.G.); (D.Z.)
- Research Group for Mood Disorders, Department of Anatomy, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary
| | - Zoltán Sándor
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (J.K.); (V.K.); (Z.S.); (A.K.); (A.A.)
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (B.G.); (D.Z.)
| | - Angéla Kecskés
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (J.K.); (V.K.); (Z.S.); (A.K.); (A.A.)
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (B.G.); (D.Z.)
| | - Ammar Alomari
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (J.K.); (V.K.); (Z.S.); (A.K.); (A.A.)
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (B.G.); (D.Z.)
| | - Alíz Szilágyi
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (A.S.); (B.S.)
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, H-1085 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Beatrix Szilágyi
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (A.S.); (B.S.)
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, H-1085 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dóra Zelena
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (B.G.); (D.Z.)
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (A.S.); (B.S.)
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, H-1085 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Erika Pintér
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (J.K.); (V.K.); (Z.S.); (A.K.); (A.A.)
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; (B.G.); (D.Z.)
- Correspondence:
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23
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Samuelsen CL, Vincis R. Cortical Hub for Flavor Sensation in Rodents. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:772286. [PMID: 34867223 PMCID: PMC8636119 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.772286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The experience of eating is inherently multimodal, combining intraoral gustatory, olfactory, and somatosensory signals into a single percept called flavor. As foods and beverages enter the mouth, movements associated with chewing and swallowing activate somatosensory receptors in the oral cavity, dissolve tastants in the saliva to activate taste receptors, and release volatile odorant molecules to retronasally activate olfactory receptors in the nasal epithelium. Human studies indicate that sensory cortical areas are important for intraoral multimodal processing, yet their circuit-level mechanisms remain unclear. Animal models allow for detailed analyses of neural circuits due to the large number of molecular tools available for tracing and neuronal manipulations. In this review, we concentrate on the anatomical and neurophysiological evidence from rodent models toward a better understanding of the circuit-level mechanisms underlying the cortical processing of flavor. While more work is needed, the emerging view pertaining to the multimodal processing of food and beverages is that the piriform, gustatory, and somatosensory cortical regions do not function solely as independent areas. Rather they act as an intraoral cortical hub, simultaneously receiving and processing multimodal sensory information from the mouth to produce the rich and complex flavor experience that guides consummatory behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad L Samuelsen
- Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Roberto Vincis
- Department of Biological Science and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
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24
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Distinct Characteristics of Odor-evoked Calcium and Electrophysiological Signals in Mitral/Tufted Cells in the Mouse Olfactory Bulb. Neurosci Bull 2021; 37:959-972. [PMID: 33856645 PMCID: PMC8275716 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-021-00680-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fiber photometry is a recently-developed method that indirectly measures neural activity by monitoring Ca2+ signals in genetically-identified neuronal populations. Although fiber photometry is widely used in neuroscience research, the relationship between the recorded Ca2+ signals and direct electrophysiological measurements of neural activity remains elusive. Here, we simultaneously recorded odor-evoked Ca2+ and electrophysiological signals [single-unit spikes and local field potentials (LFPs)] from mitral/tufted cells in the olfactory bulb of awake, head-fixed mice. Odors evoked responses in all types of signal but the response characteristics (e.g., type of response and time course) differed. The Ca2+ signal was correlated most closely with power in the β-band of the LFP. The Ca2+ signal performed slightly better at odor classification than high-γ oscillations, worse than single-unit spikes, and similarly to β oscillations. These results provide new information to help researchers select an appropriate method for monitoring neural activity under specific conditions.
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25
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Gehrlach DA, Weiand C, Gaitanos TN, Cho E, Klein AS, Hennrich AA, Conzelmann KK, Gogolla N. A whole-brain connectivity map of mouse insular cortex. eLife 2020; 9:55585. [PMID: 32940600 PMCID: PMC7538160 DOI: 10.7554/elife.55585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The insular cortex (IC) plays key roles in emotional and regulatory brain functions and is affected across psychiatric diseases. However, the brain-wide connections of the mouse IC have not been comprehensively mapped. Here, we traced the whole-brain inputs and outputs of the mouse IC across its rostro-caudal extent. We employed cell-type-specific monosynaptic rabies virus tracings to characterize afferent connections onto either excitatory or inhibitory IC neurons, and adeno-associated viral tracings to label excitatory efferent axons. While the connectivity between the IC and other cortical regions was highly bidirectional, the IC connectivity with subcortical structures was often unidirectional, revealing prominent cortical-to-subcortical or subcortical-to-cortical pathways. The posterior and medial IC exhibited resembling connectivity patterns, while the anterior IC connectivity was distinct, suggesting two major functional compartments. Our results provide insights into the anatomical architecture of the mouse IC and thus a structural basis to guide investigations into its complex functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Gehrlach
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Circuits for Emotion Research Group, Martinsried, Germany.,International Max-Planck Research School for Molecular Life Sciences, Munich, Germany
| | - Caroline Weiand
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Circuits for Emotion Research Group, Martinsried, Germany.,International Max-Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas N Gaitanos
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Circuits for Emotion Research Group, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Eunjae Cho
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Circuits for Emotion Research Group, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Alexandra S Klein
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Circuits for Emotion Research Group, Martinsried, Germany.,International Max-Planck Research School for Molecular Life Sciences, Munich, Germany
| | - Alexandru A Hennrich
- Max von Pettenkofer-Institute and Gene Center, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Karl-Klaus Conzelmann
- Max von Pettenkofer-Institute and Gene Center, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Nadine Gogolla
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Circuits for Emotion Research Group, Martinsried, Germany
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Dalal T, Gupta N, Haddad R. Bilateral and unilateral odor processing and odor perception. Commun Biol 2020; 3:150. [PMID: 32238904 PMCID: PMC7113286 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-0876-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Imagine smelling a novel perfume with only one nostril and then smelling it again with the other nostril. Clearly, you can tell that it is the same perfume both times. This simple experiment demonstrates that odor information is shared across both hemispheres to enable perceptual unity. In many sensory systems, perceptual unity is believed to be mediated by inter-hemispheric connections between iso-functional cortical regions. However, in the olfactory system, the underlying neural mechanisms that enable this coordination are unclear because the two olfactory cortices are not topographically organized and do not seem to have homotypic inter-hemispheric mapping. This review presents recent advances in determining which aspects of odor information are processed unilaterally or bilaterally, and how odor information is shared across the two hemispheres. We argue that understanding the mechanisms of inter-hemispheric coordination can provide valuable insights that are hard to achieve when focusing on one hemisphere alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tal Dalal
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 5290002, Israel
| | - Nitin Gupta
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, 208016, India
| | - Rafi Haddad
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 5290002, Israel.
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Kontaris I, East BS, Wilson DA. Behavioral and Neurobiological Convergence of Odor, Mood and Emotion: A Review. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:35. [PMID: 32210776 PMCID: PMC7076187 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The affective state is the combination of emotion and mood, with mood reflecting a running average of sequential emotional events together with an underlying internal affective state. There is now extensive evidence that odors can overtly or subliminally modulate mood and emotion. Relying primarily on neurobiological literature, here we review what is known about how odors can affect emotions/moods and how emotions/moods may affect odor perception. We take the approach that form can provide insight into function by reviewing major brain regions and neural circuits underlying emotion and mood, and then reviewing the olfactory pathway in the context of that emotion/mood network. We highlight the extensive neuroanatomical opportunities for odor-emotion/mood convergence, as well as functional data demonstrating reciprocal interactions between these processes. Finally, we explore how the odor- emotion/mood interplay is, or could be, used in medical and/or commercial applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Kontaris
- Givaudan UK Limited, Health and Well-being Centre of Excellence, Ashford, United Kingdom
| | - Brett S East
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NC, United States.,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Donald A Wilson
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NC, United States.,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, United States
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