Diagonal band stimulation increases piriform cortex neuronal excitability in vivo

Cortical feedback and gating in odor discrimination and generalization

A central question in neuroscience is how context changes perception. In the olfactory system, for example, experiments show that task demands can drive divergence and convergence of cortical odor responses, likely underpinning olfactory discrimination and generalization. Here, we propose a simple statistical mechanism for this effect based on unstructured feedback from the central brain to the olfactory bulb, which represents the context associated with an odor, and sufficiently selective cortical gating of sensory inputs. Strikingly, the model predicts that both convergence and divergence of cortical odor patterns should increase when odors are initially more similar, an effect reported in recent experiments. The theory in turn predicts reversals of these trends following experimental manipulations and in neurological conditions that increase cortical excitability.

Input dependent modulation of olfactory bulb activity by HDB GABAergic projections

Basal forebrain modulation of central circuits is associated with active sensation, attention, and learning. While cholinergic modulations have been studied extensively the effect of non-cholinergic basal forebrain subpopulations on sensory processing remains largely unclear. Here, we directly compare optogenetic manipulation effects of two major basal forebrain subpopulations on principal neuron activity in an early sensory processing area, i.e. mitral/tufted cells (MTCs) in the olfactory bulb. In contrast to cholinergic projections, which consistently increased MTC firing, activation of GABAergic fibers from basal forebrain to the olfactory bulb leads to differential modulation effects: while spontaneous MTC activity is mainly inhibited, odor-evoked firing is predominantly enhanced. Moreover, sniff-triggered averages revealed an enhancement of maximal sniff evoked firing amplitude and an inhibition of firing rates outside the maximal sniff phase. These findings demonstrate that GABAergic neuromodulation affects MTC firing in a bimodal, sensory-input dependent way, suggesting that GABAergic basal forebrain modulation could be an important factor in attention mediated filtering of sensory information to the brain.

Long-term plasticity in the regulation of olfactory bulb activity by centrifugal fibers from piriform cortex

Olfactory bulb granule cells are activated synaptically via two main pathways. Mitral/tufted (M/T) cells form dendrodendritic synapses on granule cells that can be activated by antidromic stimulation of the lateral olfactory tract (LOT). Centrifugal fibers originating from the association fiber (AF) system in piriform cortex (PC) make axodendritic synapses on granule cells within the granule cell layer (GCL) that can be activated by orthodromic stimulation of AF axons in the PC. We explored functional plasticity in the AF pathway by recording extracellularly from individual M/T cells and presumed granule cells in male Long-Evans rats under urethane anesthesia while testing their response to LOT and AF stimulation. Presumed granule cells driven synaptically by LOT stimulation (type L cells) were concentrated in the superficial half of the GCL and were activated at short latencies, whereas those driven synaptically by AF stimulation (type A cells) were concentrated in the deep half of the GCL and were activated at longer latencies. Type A cells were readily detected only in animals in which the AF input to the GCL had been previously potentiated by repeated high-frequency stimulation. An additional bout of high-frequency stimulation administered under urethane caused an immediate increase in the number of action potentials evoked in type A cells by AF test stimulation and a concomitant increase in inhibition of M/T cells. These results underscore the importance of the role played in olfactory processing by PC regulation of OB activity and document the long-lasting potentiation of that regulation by repeated high-frequency AF activation.

Cholinergic inputs from Basal forebrain add an excitatory bias to odor coding in the olfactory bulb

Cholinergic modulation of central circuits is associated with active sensation, attention, and learning, yet the neural circuits and temporal dynamics underlying cholinergic effects on sensory processing remain unclear. Understanding the effects of cholinergic modulation on particular circuits is complicated by the widespread projections of cholinergic neurons to telencephalic structures that themselves are highly interconnected. Here we examined how cholinergic projections from basal forebrain to the olfactory bulb (OB) modulate output from the first stage of sensory processing in the mouse olfactory system. By optogenetically activating their axons directly in the OB, we found that cholinergic projections from basal forebrain regulate OB output by increasing the spike output of presumptive mitral/tufted cells. Cholinergic stimulation increased mitral/tufted cell spiking in the absence of inhalation-driven sensory input and further increased spiking responses to inhalation of odorless air and to odorants. This modulation was rapid and transient, was dependent on local cholinergic signaling in the OB, and differed from modulation by optogenetic activation of cholinergic neurons in basal forebrain, which led to a mixture of mitral/tufted cell excitation and suppression. Finally, bulbar cholinergic enhancement of mitral/tufted cell odorant responses was robust and occurred independent of the strength or even polarity of the odorant-evoked response, indicating that cholinergic modulation adds an excitatory bias to mitral/tufted cells as opposed to increasing response gain or sharpening response spectra. These results are consistent with a role for the basal forebrain cholinergic system in dynamically regulating the sensitivity to or salience of odors during active sensing of the olfactory environment.

The basal forebrain modulates spontaneous activity of principal cells in the main olfactory bulb of anesthetized mice

Spontaneous activity is an important characteristic of the principal cells in the main olfactory bulb (MOB) for encoding odor information, which is modulated by the basal forebrain. Cholinergic activation has been reported to inhibit all major neuron types in the MOB. In this study, the effect of diagonal band (NDB) stimulation on mitral/tufted (M/T) cell spontaneous activity was examined in anesthetized mice. NDB stimulation increased spontaneous activity in 66 MOB neurons which lasted for 2–35 s before returning to the baseline level. The majority of the effected units showed a decrease of interspike intervals (ISI) at a range of 8–25 ms. Fifty-two percent of NDB stimulation responsive units showed intrinsic rhythmical bursting, which was enhanced temporarily by NDB stimulation, whereas the remaining non-rhythmic units were capable of synchronized bursting. The effect was attenuated by scopolamine in 21 of 27 units tested. Only four NDB units were inhibited by NDB stimulation, an inhibition that lasted less than 10 s. The NDB stimulation responsive neurons appeared to be M/T cells. Our findings demonstrate an NDB excitation effect on M/T neurons that mostly requires muscarinic receptor activation, and is likely due to non-selectivity of electrical stimulation. This suggests that cholinergic and a diverse group of non-cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain co-ordinately modulate the dynamics of M/T cell spontaneous activity, which is fundamental for odor representation and attentional perception.

Neural correlates of olfactory learning: Critical role of centrifugal neuromodulation

The mammalian olfactory system is well established for its remarkable capability of undergoing experience-dependent plasticity. Although this process involves changes at multiple stages throughout the central olfactory pathway, even the early stages of processing, such as the olfactory bulb and piriform cortex, can display a high degree of plasticity. As in other sensory systems, this plasticity can be controlled by centrifugal inputs from brain regions known to be involved in attention and learning processes. Specifically, both the bulb and cortex receive heavy inputs from cholinergic, noradrenergic, and serotonergic modulatory systems. These neuromodulators are shown to have profound effects on both odor processing and odor memory by acting on both inhibitory local interneurons and output neurons in both regions.

Cholinergic modulation of intrinsic fibre-evoked excitatory transmission contains a nicotinic component in immature but not adult rat piriform cortex, in vitro

The piriform cortex (PC) is highly prone to epileptogenesis, particularly in immature animals, where decreased muscarinic modulation of PC intrinsic fibre excitatory neurotransmission is implicated as a likely cause. However, whether higher levels of acetylcholine (ACh) release occur in immature vs. adult PC remains unclear. We investigated this using in vitro extracellular electrophysiological recording techniques. Intrinsic fibre-evoked extracellular field potentials (EFPs) were recorded from layers II to III in PC brain slices prepared from immature (P14-18) and adult (P>40) rats. Adult and immature PC EFPs were suppressed by eserine (1 microM) or neostigmine (1 microM) application, with a greater suppression in immature (approximately 40%) than adult (approximately 30%) slices. Subsequent application of atropine (1 microM) reversed EFP suppression, producing supranormal (approximately 12%) recovery in adult slices, suggesting that suppression was solely muscarinic ACh receptor-mediated and that some 'basal' cholinergic 'tone' was present. Conversely, atropine only partially reversed anticholinesterase effects in immature slices, suggesting the presence of additional non-muscarinic modulation. Accordingly, nicotine (50 microM) caused immature field suppression (approximately 30%) that was further enhanced by neostigmine, whereas it had no effect on adult EFPs. Unlike atropine, nicotinic antagonists, mecamylamine and methyllycaconitine, induced immature supranormal field recovery (approximately 20%) following anticholinesterase-induced suppression (with no effect on adult slices), confirming that basal cholinergic 'tone' was also present. We suggest that nicotinic inhibitory cholinergic modulation occurs in the immature rat PC intrinsic excitatory fibre system, possibly to complement the existing, weak muscarinic modulation, and could be another important developmentally regulated system governing immature PC susceptibility towards epileptogenesis.