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Belonio KC, Haile ES, Fyke Z, Vivona L, Konanur VR, Tulabandhula T, Zak JD. Amplification of olfactory transduction currents implements sparse stimulus encoding. J Neurosci 2025; 45:e2008242025. [PMID: 40097179 PMCID: PMC12044040 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2008-24.2025] [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: 10/23/2024] [Revised: 03/08/2025] [Accepted: 03/11/2025] [Indexed: 03/19/2025] Open
Abstract
Sensory systems must perform the dual and opposing tasks of being sensitive to weak stimuli while also maintaining information content in dense and variable sensory landscapes. This occurs in the olfactory system, where OSNs are highly sensitive to low concentrations of odors and maintain discriminability in complex odor environments. How olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) maintain both sensitivity and sparsity is poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether the calcium-activated chloride channel, TMEM16B, may support these dual roles in OSNs in both male and female mice. We used multiphoton microscopy to image the stimulus-response density of OSNs in the olfactory epithelium. In TMEM16B knockout mice, we found that sensory representations were denser, and the magnitude of OSN responses was increased. Behaviorally, these changes in sensory representations were associated with an increased aversion to the odorant trimethylamine, which switches perceptual valence as its concentration increases, and a decreased efficiency of olfactory-guided navigation. Our results indicate that the calcium-activated chloride channel TMEM16B sparsens sensory representations in the peripheral olfactory system and contributes to efficient integrative olfactory-guided behaviors.Significance Statement Sensory systems must build internal neural representations of stimuli found in the external environment. In the olfactory system, molecules that give rise to the perception of odors are detected by olfactory sensory neurons within the nose. Upon odorant binding to sensory neurons, a biochemical signaling cascade transduces neural signals that other areas of the brain can then read out. A key component of this cascade is the calcium-activated chloride channel TMEM16B. We found that despite its role in amplifying transduction currents in olfactory sensory neurons, TMEM16B paradoxically constrains their output, thereby limiting information transfer to the brain. Our findings also indicate that TMEM16B plays an important role in how animals detect and perceive odors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Clane Belonio
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607
| | - Eyerusalem S. Haile
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607
| | - Zach Fyke
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607
| | - Lindsay Vivona
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607
| | - Vaibhav R. Konanur
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607
| | - Theja Tulabandhula
- Departments of Information and Decision Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607
| | - Joseph D. Zak
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607
- Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607
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Tolooshams B, Matias S, Wu H, Temereanca S, Uchida N, Murthy VN, Masset P, Ba D. Interpretable deep learning for deconvolutional analysis of neural signals. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.05.574379. [PMID: 38260512 PMCID: PMC10802267 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.05.574379] [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: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
The widespread adoption of deep learning to build models that capture the dynamics of neural populations is typically based on "black-box" approaches that lack an interpretable link between neural activity and network parameters. Here, we propose to apply algorithm unrolling, a method for interpretable deep learning, to design the architecture of sparse deconvolutional neural networks and obtain a direct interpretation of network weights in relation to stimulus-driven single-neuron activity through a generative model. We characterize our method, referred to as deconvolutional unrolled neural learning (DUNL), and show its versatility by applying it to deconvolve single-trial local signals across multiple brain areas and recording modalities. To exemplify use cases of our decomposition method, we uncover multiplexed salience and reward prediction error signals from midbrain dopamine neurons in an unbiased manner, perform simultaneous event detection and characterization in somatosensory thalamus recordings, and characterize the heterogeneity of neural responses in the piriform cortex and in the striatum during unstructured, naturalistic experiments. Our work leverages the advances in interpretable deep learning to gain a mechanistic understanding of neural activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bahareh Tolooshams
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
- Computing + Mathematical Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125
| | - Sara Matias
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
| | - Hao Wu
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
| | - Simona Temereanca
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02906
| | - Naoshige Uchida
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
| | - Venkatesh N. Murthy
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
| | - Paul Masset
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal QC, H3A 1G1
| | - Demba Ba
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
- Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural & Artificial Intelligence, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 02138
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Belonio KC, Haile ES, Fyke Z, Vivona L, Konanur V, Zak JD. Amplification of olfactory transduction currents implements sparse stimulus encoding. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.10.11.617893. [PMID: 39416025 PMCID: PMC11482904 DOI: 10.1101/2024.10.11.617893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2024]
Abstract
Sensory systems must perform the dual and opposing tasks of being sensitive to weak stimuli while also maintaining information content in dense and variable sensory landscapes. This occurs in the olfactory system, where OSNs are highly sensitive to low concentrations of odors and maintain discriminability in complex odor environments. How olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) maintain both sensitivity and sparsity is not well understood. Here, we investigated whether the calcium-activated chloride channel, TMEM16B, may support these dual roles in OSNs. We used multiphoton microscopy to image the stimulus-response density of OSNs in the olfactory epithelium. In TMEM16B knockout mice, we found that sensory representations were denser, and the magnitude of OSN responses was increased. Behaviorally, these changes in sensory representations were associated with an increased aversion to the odorant trimethylamine, which switches perceptual valence as its concentration increases, and a decreased efficiency of olfactory-guided navigation. Together, our results indicate that the calcium-activated chloride channel TMEM16B sparsens sensory representations in the peripheral olfactory system and contributes to efficient integrative olfactory-guided behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Clane Belonio
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, 60607
| | - Eyerusalem S. Haile
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, 60607
| | - Zach Fyke
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois Chicago, 60607
| | - Lindsay Vivona
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, 60607
| | - Vaibhav Konanur
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, 60607
| | - Joseph D. Zak
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, 60607
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago, 60607
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