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Penker S, Lawabny N, Dhamshy A, Licht T, Rokni D. Synaptic Connectivity and Electrophysiological Properties of the Nucleus of the Lateral Olfactory Tract. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e2420232024. [PMID: 38997160 PMCID: PMC11326862 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2420-23.2024] [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: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The sense of smell is tightly linked to emotions, a link that is thought to rely on the direct synaptic connections between the olfactory bulb (OB) and nuclei of the amygdala. However, there are multiple pathways projecting olfactory information to the amygdala, and their unique functions are unknown. The pathway via the nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract (NLOT) that receives input from olfactory regions and projects to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is among them. NLOT has been very little studied, and consequentially its function is unknown. Furthermore, formulation of informed hypotheses about NLOT function is at this stage limited by the lack of knowledge about its connectivity and physiological properties. Here, we used virus-based tracing methods to systematically reveal inputs into NLOT, as well as NLOT projection targets in mice of both sexes. We found that the NLOT is interconnected with several olfactory brain regions and with the BLA. Some of these connections were reciprocal, and some showed unique interhemispheric patterns. We tested the excitable properties of NLOT neurons and the properties of each of the major synaptic inputs. We found that the NLOT receives powerful input from the piriform cortex, tenia tecta, and the BLA but only very weak input from the OB. When input crosses threshold, NLOT neurons respond with calcium-dependent bursts of action potentials. We hypothesize that this integration of olfactory and amygdalar inputs serves behaviors that combine smell and emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sapir Penker
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine and IMRIC, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
| | - Naheel Lawabny
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine and IMRIC, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
| | - Aya Dhamshy
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine and IMRIC, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
| | - Tamar Licht
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine and IMRIC, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
| | - Dan Rokni
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine and IMRIC, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
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2
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Wolf D, Hartig R, Zhuo Y, Scheller MF, Articus M, Moor M, Grinevich V, Linster C, Russo E, Weber-Fahr W, Reinwald JR, Kelsch W. Oxytocin induces the formation of distinctive cortical representations and cognitions biased toward familiar mice. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6274. [PMID: 39054324 PMCID: PMC11272796 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50113-6] [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: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Social recognition is essential for the formation of social structures. Many times, recognition comes with lesser exploration of familiar animals. This lesser exploration has led to the assumption that recognition may be a habituation memory. The underlying memory mechanisms and the thereby acquired cortical representations of familiar mice have remained largely unknown, however. Here, we introduce an approach directly examining the recognition process from volatile body odors among male mice. We show that volatile body odors emitted by mice are sufficient to identify individuals and that more salience is assigned to familiar mice. Familiarity is encoded by reinforced population responses in two olfactory cortex hubs and communicated to other brain regions. The underlying oxytocin-induced plasticity promotes the separation of the cortical representations of familiar from other mice. In summary, neuronal encoding of familiar animals is distinct and utilizes the cortical representational space more broadly, promoting storage of complex social relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Renée Hartig
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Yi Zhuo
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Max F Scheller
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Mirko Articus
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Marcel Moor
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Valery Grinevich
- Department of Neuropeptide Research in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Christiane Linster
- Computational Physiology Laboratory, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, NY, 14850, USA
| | - Eleonora Russo
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
- The BioRobotics Institute, Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127, Pisa, Italy
| | - Wolfgang Weber-Fahr
- Department of Neuroimaging, Translational Imaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Jonathan R Reinwald
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
- Department of Neuroimaging, Translational Imaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Kelsch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany.
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3
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Lee D, Lau N, Liu L, Root CM. Transformation of valence signaling in a striatopallidal circuit. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.08.01.551547. [PMID: 37577586 PMCID: PMC10418236 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.01.551547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
The ways in which sensory stimuli acquire motivational valence through association with other stimuli is one of the simplest forms of learning. Though we have identified many brain nuclei that play various roles in reward processing, a significant gap remains in understanding how valence encoding transforms through the layers of sensory processing. To address this gap, we carried out a comparative investigation of the anteromedial olfactory tubercle (OT), and the ventral pallidum (VP) - 2 connected nuclei of the basal ganglia which have both been implicated in reward processing. First, using anterograde and retrograde tracing, we show that both D1 and D2 neurons of the anteromedial OT project primarily to the VP and minimally elsewhere. Using 2-photon calcium imaging, we then investigated how the identity of the odor and reward contingency of the odor are differently encoded by neurons in either structure during a classical conditioning paradigm. We find that VP neurons robustly encode reward contingency, but not identity, in low-dimensional space. In contrast, the OT neurons primarily encode odor identity in high-dimensional space. Although D1 OT neurons showed larger responses to rewarded odors than other odors, consistent with prior findings, we interpret this as identity encoding with enhanced contrast. Finally, using a novel conditioning paradigm that decouples reward contingency and licking vigor, we show that both features are encoded by non-overlapping VP neurons. These results provide a novel framework for the striatopallidal circuit in which a high-dimensional encoding of stimulus identity is collapsed onto a low-dimensional encoding of motivational valence.
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Howe JR, Chan CL, Lee D, Blanquart M, Romero HK, Zadina AN, Lemieux ME, Mills F, Desplats PA, Tye KM, Root CM. Control of innate olfactory valence by segregated cortical amygdala circuits. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.26.600895. [PMID: 38979308 PMCID: PMC11230396 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.26.600895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Animals perform innate behaviors that are stereotyped responses to specific evolutionarily relevant stimuli in the absence of prior learning or experience. These behaviors can be reduced to an axis of valence, whereby specific odors evoke approach or avoidance. The cortical amygdala (plCoA) mediates innate attraction and aversion to odor. However, little is known about how this brain area gives rise to behaviors of opposing motivational valence. Here, we sought to define the circuit features of plCoA that give rise to innate olfactory behaviors of valence. We characterized the physiology, gene expression, and projections of this structure, identifying a divergent, topographic organization that selectively controls innate attraction and avoidance to odor. First, we examined odor-evoked responses in these areas and found sparse encoding of odor identity, but not valence. We next considered a topographic organization and found that optogenetic stimulation of the anterior and posterior domains of plCoA elicits attraction and avoidance, respectively, suggesting a functional axis for valence. Using single cell and spatial RNA sequencing, we identified the molecular cell types in plCoA, revealing an anteroposterior gradient in cell types, whereby anterior glutamatergic neurons preferentially express Slc17a6 and posterior neurons express Slc17a7. Activation of these respective cell types recapitulates appetitive and aversive valence behaviors, and chemogenetic inhibition reveals partial necessity for valence responses to innate appetitive or aversive odors. Finally, we identified topographically organized circuits defined by projections, whereby anterior neurons preferentially project to medial amygdala, and posterior neurons preferentially project to nucleus accumbens, which are respectively sufficient and necessary for innate negative and positive olfactory valence. Together, these data advance our understanding of how the olfactory system generates stereotypic, hardwired attraction and avoidance, and supports a model whereby distinct, topographically distributed plCoA populations direct innate olfactory valence responses by signaling to divergent valence-specific targets, linking upstream olfactory identity to downstream valence behaviors, through a population code. This represents a novel circuit motif in which valence encoding is represented not by the firing properties of individual neurons, but by population level identity encoding that is routed through divergent targets to mediate distinct valence.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Howe
- Department of Biological Sciences, Section of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Chung-Lung Chan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Section of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- These authors contributed equally
| | - Donghyung Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences, Section of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Marlon Blanquart
- Department of Biological Sciences, Section of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Haylie K Romero
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Center for Circadian Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Abigail N Zadina
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | | | - Fergil Mills
- Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Paula A Desplats
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Center for Circadian Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Kay M Tye
- Department of Biological Sciences, Section of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Cory M Root
- Department of Biological Sciences, Section of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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Federman N, Romano SA, Amigo-Duran M, Salomon L, Marin-Burgin A. Acquisition of non-olfactory encoding improves odour discrimination in olfactory cortex. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5572. [PMID: 38956072 PMCID: PMC11220071 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49897-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Olfaction is influenced by contextual factors, past experiences, and the animal's internal state. Whether this information is integrated at the initial stages of cortical odour processing is not known, nor how these signals may influence odour encoding. Here we revealed multiple and diverse non-olfactory responses in the primary olfactory (piriform) cortex (PCx), which dynamically enhance PCx odour discrimination according to behavioural demands. We performed recordings of PCx neurons from mice trained in a virtual reality task to associate odours with visual contexts to obtain a reward. We found that learning shifts PCx activity from encoding solely odours to a regime in which positional, contextual, and associative responses emerge on odour-responsive neurons that become mixed-selective. The modulation of PCx activity by these non-olfactory signals was dynamic, improving odour decoding during task engagement and in rewarded contexts. This improvement relied on the acquired mixed-selectivity, demonstrating how integrating extra-sensory inputs in sensory cortices can enhance sensory processing while encoding the behavioural relevance of stimuli.
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Grants
- 108878 Canadian International Development Agency (Agence Canadienne de Développement International)
- PICT2018-0880 Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | National Agency for Science and Technology, Argentina | Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Fund for Scientific and Technological Research)
- PICT2020-0360 Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | National Agency for Science and Technology, Argentina | Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Fund for Scientific and Technological Research)
- PICT2020-1536 Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | National Agency for Science and Technology, Argentina | Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Fund for Scientific and Technological Research)
- PICT2016-2758 Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | National Agency for Science and Technology, Argentina | Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Fund for Scientific and Technological Research)
- PICT2017-4023 Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina | National Agency for Science and Technology, Argentina | Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Fund for Scientific and Technological Research)
- PIP2787 Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina)
- SPIRIT 216044 Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation)
- Fondo para la convergencia estructural del Mercosur–FOCEM grant cOF 03/11
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Affiliation(s)
- Noel Federman
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Sebastián A Romano
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Macarena Amigo-Duran
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, PhD Program, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucca Salomon
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, PhD Program, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Antonia Marin-Burgin
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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6
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Fulton KA, Zimmerman D, Samuel A, Vogt K, Datta SR. Common principles for odour coding across vertebrates and invertebrates. Nat Rev Neurosci 2024; 25:453-472. [PMID: 38806946 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-024-00822-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
The olfactory system is an ideal and tractable system for exploring how the brain transforms sensory inputs into behaviour. The basic tasks of any olfactory system include odour detection, discrimination and categorization. The challenge for the olfactory system is to transform the high-dimensional space of olfactory stimuli into the much smaller space of perceived objects and valence that endows odours with meaning. Our current understanding of how neural circuits address this challenge has come primarily from observations of the mechanisms of the brain for processing other sensory modalities, such as vision and hearing, in which optimized deep hierarchical circuits are used to extract sensory features that vary along continuous physical dimensions. The olfactory system, by contrast, contends with an ill-defined, high-dimensional stimulus space and discrete stimuli using a circuit architecture that is shallow and parallelized. Here, we present recent observations in vertebrate and invertebrate systems that relate the statistical structure and state-dependent modulation of olfactory codes to mechanisms of perception and odour-guided behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kara A Fulton
- Department of Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David Zimmerman
- Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Aravi Samuel
- Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Katrin Vogt
- Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
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7
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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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8
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Zhou G, Lane G, Kahnt T, Zelano C. Structural Connectivity between Olfactory Tubercle and Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray Implicated in Human Feeding Behavior. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e2342232024. [PMID: 38755004 PMCID: PMC11209663 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2342-23.2024] [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: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The olfactory tubercle (TUB), also called the tubular striatum, receives direct input from the olfactory bulb and, along with the nucleus accumbens, is one of the two principal components of the ventral striatum. As a key component of the reward system, the ventral striatum is involved in feeding behavior, but the vast majority of research on this structure has focused on the nucleus accumbens, leaving the TUB's role in feeding behavior understudied. Given the importance of olfaction in food seeking and consumption, olfactory input to the striatum should be an important contributor to motivated feeding behavior. Yet the TUB is vastly understudied in humans, with very little understanding of its structural organization and connectivity. In this study, we analyzed macrostructural variations between the TUB and the whole brain and explored the relationship between TUB structural pathways and feeding behavior, using body mass index (BMI) as a proxy in females and males. We identified a unique structural covariance between the TUB and the periaqueductal gray (PAG), which has recently been implicated in the suppression of feeding. We further show that the integrity of the white matter tract between the two regions is negatively correlated with BMI. Our findings highlight a potential role for the TUB-PAG pathway in the regulation of feeding behavior in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangyu Zhou
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Gregory Lane
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Thorsten Kahnt
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, Maryland 21224
| | - Christina Zelano
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
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Murata K, Maegawa A, Imoto Y, Fujieda S, Fukazawa Y. Endogenous opioids in the olfactory tubercle and their roles in olfaction and quality of life. Front Neural Circuits 2024; 18:1408189. [PMID: 38872907 PMCID: PMC11170707 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2024.1408189] [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: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Olfactory dysfunctions decrease daily quality of life (QOL) in part by reducing the pleasure of eating. Olfaction plays an essential role in flavor sensation and palatability. The decreased QOL due to olfactory dysfunction is speculated to result from abnormal neural activities in the olfactory and limbic areas of the brain, as well as peripheral odorant receptor dysfunctions. However, the specific underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear. As the olfactory tubercle (OT) is one of the brain's regions with high expression of endogenous opioids, we hypothesize that the mechanism underlying the decrease in QOL due to olfactory dysfunction involves the reduction of neural activity in the OT and subsequent endogenous opioid release in specialized subregions. In this review, we provide an overview and recent updates on the OT, the endogenous opioid system, and the pleasure systems in the brain and then discuss our hypothesis. To facilitate the effective treatment of olfactory dysfunctions and decreased QOL, elucidation of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the pleasure of eating through flavor sensation is crucial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koshi Murata
- Division of Brain Structure and Function, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Ayako Maegawa
- Division of Brain Structure and Function, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Yoshimasa Imoto
- Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Shigeharu Fujieda
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Yugo Fukazawa
- Division of Brain Structure and Function, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
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10
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Yamaguchi M. Connectivity of the olfactory tubercle: inputs, outputs, and their plasticity. Front Neural Circuits 2024; 18:1423505. [PMID: 38841557 PMCID: PMC11150588 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2024.1423505] [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: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The olfactory tubercle (OT) is a unique part of the olfactory cortex of the mammal brain in that it is also a component of the ventral striatum. It is crucially involved in motivational behaviors, particularly in adaptive olfactory learning. This review introduces the basic properties of the OT, its synaptic connectivity with other brain areas, and the plasticity of the connectivity associated with learning behavior. The adaptive properties of olfactory behavior are discussed further based on the characteristics of OT neuronal circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Yamaguchi
- Department of Physiology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan
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11
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Lindeman S, Fu X, Reinert JK, Fukunaga I. Value-related learning in the olfactory bulb occurs through pathway-dependent perisomatic inhibition of mitral cells. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002536. [PMID: 38427708 PMCID: PMC10936853 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Associating values to environmental cues is a critical aspect of learning from experiences, allowing animals to predict and maximise future rewards. Value-related signals in the brain were once considered a property of higher sensory regions, but their wide distribution across many brain regions is increasingly recognised. Here, we investigate how reward-related signals begin to be incorporated, mechanistically, at the earliest stage of olfactory processing, namely, in the olfactory bulb. In head-fixed mice performing Go/No-Go discrimination of closely related olfactory mixtures, rewarded odours evoke widespread inhibition in one class of output neurons, that is, in mitral cells but not tufted cells. The temporal characteristics of this reward-related inhibition suggest it is odour-driven, but it is also context-dependent since it is absent during pseudo-conditioning and pharmacological silencing of the piriform cortex. Further, the reward-related modulation is present in the somata but not in the apical dendritic tuft of mitral cells, suggesting an involvement of circuit components located deep in the olfactory bulb. Depth-resolved imaging from granule cell dendritic gemmules suggests that granule cells that target mitral cells receive a reward-related extrinsic drive. Thus, our study supports the notion that value-related modulation of olfactory signals is a characteristic of olfactory processing in the primary olfactory area and narrows down the possible underlying mechanisms to deeper circuit components that contact mitral cells perisomatically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sander Lindeman
- Sensory and Behavioural Neuroscience Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Xiaochen Fu
- Sensory and Behavioural Neuroscience Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Janine Kristin Reinert
- Sensory and Behavioural Neuroscience Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Izumi Fukunaga
- Sensory and Behavioural Neuroscience Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
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12
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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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13
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Sha MFR, Koga Y, Murata Y, Taniguchi M, Yamaguchi M. Learning-dependent structural plasticity of intracortical and sensory connections to functional domains of the olfactory tubercle. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1247375. [PMID: 37680965 PMCID: PMC10480507 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1247375] [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: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The olfactory tubercle (OT), which is a component of the olfactory cortex and ventral striatum, has functional domains that play a role in odor-guided motivated behaviors. Learning odor-guided attractive and aversive behavior activates the anteromedial (am) and lateral (l) domains of the OT, respectively. However, the mechanism driving learning-dependent activation of specific OT domains remains unknown. We hypothesized that the neuronal connectivity of OT domains is plastically altered through olfactory experience. To examine the plastic potential of synaptic connections to OT domains, we optogenetically stimulated intracortical inputs from the piriform cortex or sensory inputs from the olfactory bulb to the OT in mice in association with a food reward for attractive learning and electrical foot shock for aversive learning. For both intracortical and sensory connections, axon boutons that terminated in the OT domains were larger in the amOT than in the lOT for mice exhibiting attractive learning and larger in the lOT than in the amOT for mice exhibiting aversive learning. These results indicate that both intracortical and sensory connections to the OT domains have learning-dependent plastic potential, suggesting that this plasticity underlies learning-dependent activation of specific OT domains and the acquisition of appropriate motivated behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Masahiro Yamaguchi
- Department of Physiology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan
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14
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Berners-Lee A, Shtrahman E, Grimaud J, Murthy VN. Experience-dependent evolution of odor mixture representations in piriform cortex. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002086. [PMID: 37098044 PMCID: PMC10129003 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Rodents can learn from exposure to rewarding odors to make better and quicker decisions. The piriform cortex is thought to be important for learning complex odor associations; however, it is not understood exactly how it learns to remember discriminations between many, sometimes overlapping, odor mixtures. We investigated how odor mixtures are represented in the posterior piriform cortex (pPC) of mice while they learn to discriminate a unique target odor mixture against hundreds of nontarget mixtures. We find that a significant proportion of pPC neurons discriminate between the target and all other nontarget odor mixtures. Neurons that prefer the target odor mixture tend to respond with brief increases in firing rate at odor onset compared to other neurons, which exhibit sustained and/or decreased firing. We allowed mice to continue training after they had reached high levels of performance and find that pPC neurons become more selective for target odor mixtures as well as for randomly chosen repeated nontarget odor mixtures that mice did not have to discriminate from other nontargets. These single unit changes during overtraining are accompanied by better categorization decoding at the population level, even though behavioral metrics of mice such as reward rate and latency to respond do not change. However, when difficult ambiguous trial types are introduced, the robustness of the target selectivity is correlated with better performance on the difficult trials. Taken together, these data reveal pPC as a dynamic and robust system that can optimize for both current and possible future task demands at once.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Berners-Lee
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth Shtrahman
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Julien Grimaud
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Cell Engineering Laboratory (CellTechs), Sup'Biotech, Villejuif, France
| | - Venkatesh N Murthy
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
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15
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Chae H, Banerjee A, Dussauze M, Albeanu DF. Long-range functional loops in the mouse olfactory system and their roles in computing odor identity. Neuron 2022; 110:3970-3985.e7. [PMID: 36174573 PMCID: PMC9742324 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Elucidating the neural circuits supporting odor identification remains an open challenge. Here, we analyze the contribution of the two output cell types of the mouse olfactory bulb (mitral and tufted cells) to decode odor identity and concentration and its dependence on top-down feedback from their respective major cortical targets: piriform cortex versus anterior olfactory nucleus. We find that tufted cells substantially outperform mitral cells in decoding both odor identity and intensity. Cortical feedback selectively regulates the activity of its dominant bulb projection cell type and implements different computations. Piriform feedback specifically restructures mitral responses, whereas feedback from the anterior olfactory nucleus preferentially controls the gain of tufted representations without altering their odor tuning. Our results identify distinct functional loops involving the mitral and tufted cells and their cortical targets. We suggest that in addition to the canonical mitral-to-piriform pathway, tufted cells and their target regions are ideally positioned to compute odor identity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Honggoo Chae
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Arkarup Banerjee
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory School for Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Marie Dussauze
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory School for Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Dinu F Albeanu
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory School for Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
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16
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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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17
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Bhattarai JP, Etyemez S, Jaaro-Peled H, Janke E, Leon Tolosa UD, Kamiya A, Gottfried JA, Sawa A, Ma M. Olfactory modulation of the medial prefrontal cortex circuitry: Implications for social cognition. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2022; 129:31-39. [PMID: 33975755 PMCID: PMC8573060 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.03.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Olfactory dysfunction is manifested in a wide range of neurological and psychiatric diseases, and often emerges prior to the onset of more classical symptoms and signs. From a behavioral perspective, olfactory deficits typically arise in conjunction with impairments of cognition, motivation, memory, and emotion. However, a conceptual framework for explaining the impact of olfactory processing on higher brain functions in health and disease remains lacking. Here we aim to provide circuit-level insights into this question by synthesizing recent advances in olfactory network connectivity with other cortical brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex. We will focus on social cognition as a representative model for exploring and critically evaluating the relationship between olfactory cortices and higher-order cortical regions in rodent models. Although rodents do not recapitulate all dimensions of human social cognition, they have experimentally accessible neural circuits and well-established behavioral tests for social motivation, memory/recognition, and hierarchy, which can be extrapolated to other species including humans. In particular, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been recognized as a key brain region in mediating social cognition in both rodents and humans. This review will highlight the underappreciated connectivity, both anatomical and functional, between the olfactory system and mPFC circuitry, which together provide a neural substrate for olfactory modulation of social cognition and social behaviors. We will provide future perspectives on the functional investigation of the olfactory-mPFC circuit in rodent models and discuss how to translate such animal research to human studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janardhan P Bhattarai
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Semra Etyemez
- Department of Psychiatry, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Hanna Jaaro-Peled
- Department of Psychiatry, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Emma Janke
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Usuy D Leon Tolosa
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Atsushi Kamiya
- Department of Psychiatry, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Jay A Gottfried
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, School of Arts and Sciences, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Akira Sawa
- Department of Psychiatry, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; Departments of Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, and Genetic Medicine, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
| | - Minghong Ma
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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18
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The facets of olfactory learning. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 76:102623. [PMID: 35998474 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Volatile chemicals in the environment provide ethologically important information to many animals. However, how animals learn to use this information is only beginning to be understood. This review highlights recent experimental advances elucidating olfactory learning in rodents, ranging from adaptations to the environment to task-dependent refinement and multisensory associations. The broad range of phenomena, mechanisms, and brain areas involved demonstrate the complex and multifaceted nature of olfactory learning.
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19
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Mori K, Sakano H. Neural Circuitry for Stress Information of Environmental and Internal Odor Worlds. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:943647. [PMID: 35783233 PMCID: PMC9245520 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.943647] [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: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In mammals, odor information detected in the olfactory epithelium is converted to a topographic map of activated glomeruli in the olfactory bulb. Odor signals are then conveyed by projection neurons to the olfactory cortex for decision making. Odor information is processed by two distinct pathways, one is innate and the other is learned, which are separately activated during exhalation and inhalation, respectively. There are two types of odor signals, exteroceptive and interoceptive, which are also processed in different phases of respiration. Exteroceptive sensory information whether attractive/pleasant or aversive/stressful, is evaluated by the valence regions in the amygdala. Stress is an alert signal telling the body to take an action so that the normal condition can be recovered. When the odor quality is negative, the brain sets up a behavioral strategy to avoid the danger or to improve the situation. In this review article, we will describe the recent progress in the study of olfactory perception focusing on stress responses to external and internal odors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kensaku Mori
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Japan
- *Correspondence: Kensaku Mori,
| | - Hitoshi Sakano
- Department of Brain Function, School of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Hitoshi Sakano,
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20
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Martiros N, Kapoor V, Kim SE, Murthy VN. Distinct representation of cue-outcome association by D1 and D2 neurons in the ventral striatum's olfactory tubercle. eLife 2022; 11:e75463. [PMID: 35708179 PMCID: PMC9203051 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Positive and negative associations acquired through olfactory experience are thought to be especially strong and long-lasting. The conserved direct olfactory sensory input to the ventral striatal olfactory tubercle (OT) and its convergence with dense dopaminergic input to the OT could underlie this privileged form of associative memory, but how this process occurs is not well understood. We imaged the activity of the two canonical types of striatal neurons, expressing D1- or D2-type dopamine receptors, in the OT at cellular resolution while mice learned odor-outcome associations ranging from aversive to rewarding. D1 and D2 neurons both responded to rewarding and aversive odors. D1 neurons in the OT robustly and bidirectionally represented odor valence, responding similarly to odors predicting similar outcomes regardless of odor identity. This valence representation persisted even in the absence of a licking response to the odors and in the absence of the outcomes, indicating a true transformation of odor sensory information by D1 OT neurons. In contrast, D2 neuronal representation of the odor-outcome associations was weaker, contingent on a licking response by the mouse, and D2 neurons were more selective for odor identity than valence. Stimulus valence coding in the OT was modality-sensitive, with separate sets of D1 neurons responding to odors and sounds predicting the same outcomes, suggesting that integration of multimodal valence information happens downstream of the OT. Our results point to distinct representation of identity and valence of odor stimuli by D1 and D2 neurons in the OT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuné Martiros
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| | - Vikrant Kapoor
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| | - Spencer E Kim
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| | - Venkatesh N Murthy
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
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21
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Winkelmeier L, Filosa C, Hartig R, Scheller M, Sack M, Reinwald JR, Becker R, Wolf D, Gerchen MF, Sartorius A, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Weber-Fahr W, Clemm von Hohenberg C, Russo E, Kelsch W. Striatal hub of dynamic and stabilized prediction coding in forebrain networks for olfactory reinforcement learning. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3305. [PMID: 35676281 PMCID: PMC9177857 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30978-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying the circuits responsible for cognition and understanding their embedded computations is a challenge for neuroscience. We establish here a hierarchical cross-scale approach, from behavioral modeling and fMRI in task-performing mice to cellular recordings, in order to disentangle local network contributions to olfactory reinforcement learning. At mesoscale, fMRI identifies a functional olfactory-striatal network interacting dynamically with higher-order cortices. While primary olfactory cortices respectively contribute only some value components, the downstream olfactory tubercle of the ventral striatum expresses comprehensively reward prediction, its dynamic updating, and prediction error components. In the tubercle, recordings reveal two underlying neuronal populations with non-redundant reward prediction coding schemes. One population collectively produces stabilized predictions as distributed activity across neurons; in the other, neurons encode value individually and dynamically integrate the recent history of uncertain outcomes. These findings validate a cross-scale approach to mechanistic investigations of higher cognitive functions in rodents. Where and how the brain learns from experience is not fully understood. Here the authors use a hierarchical approach from behavioural modelling to systems fMRI to cellular coding reveals brain mechanisms for history informed updating of future predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurens Winkelmeier
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Carla Filosa
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Renée Hartig
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Max Scheller
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Markus Sack
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Jonathan R Reinwald
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Robert Becker
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - David Wolf
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Martin Fungisai Gerchen
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Alexander Sartorius
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Weber-Fahr
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | - Eleonora Russo
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Kelsch
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany. .,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
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22
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Dopamine Modulates the Processing of Food Odour in the Ventral Striatum. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10051126. [PMID: 35625863 PMCID: PMC9138215 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10051126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Food odour is a potent stimulus of food intake. Odour coding in the brain occurs in synergy or competition with other sensory information and internal signals. For eliciting feeding behaviour, food odour coding has to gain signification through enrichment with additional labelling in the brain. Since the ventral striatum, at the crossroads of olfactory and reward pathways, receives a rich dopaminergic innervation, we hypothesized that dopamine plays a role in food odour information processing in the ventral striatum. Using single neurones recordings in anesthetised rats, we show that some ventral striatum neurones respond to food odour. This neuronal network displays a variety of responses (excitation, inhibition, rhythmic activity in phase with respiration). The localization of recorded neurones in a 3-dimensional brain model suggests the spatial segregation of this food-odour responsive population. Using local field potentials recordings, we found that the neural population response to food odour was characterized by an increase of power in the beta-band frequency. This response was modulated by dopamine, as evidenced by its depression following administration of the dopaminergic D1 and D2 antagonists SCH23390 and raclopride. Our results suggest that dopamine improves food odour processing in the ventral striatum.
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23
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Endo K, Kazama H. Central organization of a high-dimensional odor space. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 73:102528. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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24
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Wright KN, Johnson NL, Dossat AM, Wilson JT, Wesson DW. Reducing local synthesis of estrogen in the tubular striatum promotes attraction to same-sex odors in female mice. Horm Behav 2022; 140:105122. [PMID: 35101702 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Brain-derived 17β-estradiol (E2) confers rapid effects on neural activity. The tubular striatum (TuS, also called the olfactory tubercle) is both capable of local E2 synthesis due to its abundant expression of aromatase and is a critical locus for odor-guided motivated behavior and odor hedonics. TuS neurons also contain mRNA for estrogen receptors α, β, and the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor. We demonstrate here that mRNA for estrogen receptors appears to be expressed upon TuS dopamine 1 receptor-expressing neurons, suggesting that E2 may play a neuromodulatory role in circuits which are important for motivated behavior. Therefore, we reasoned that E2 in the TuS may influence attraction to urinary odors which are highly attractive. Using whole-body plethysmography, we examined odor-evoked high-frequency sniffing as a measure of odor attaction. Bilateral infusion of the aromatase inhibitor letrozole into the TuS of gonadectomized female adult mice induced a resistance to habituation over successive trials in their investigatory sniffing for female mouse urinary odors, indicative of an enhanced attraction. All males displayed resistance to habituation for female urinary odors, indicative of enhanced attraction that is independent from E2 manipulation. Letrozole's effects were not due to group differences in basal respiration, nor changes in the ability to detect or discriminate between odors (both monomolecular odorants and urinary odors). Therefore, de novo E2 synthesis in the TuS impacts females' but not males' attraction to female urinary odors, suggesting a sex-specific influence of E2 in odor hedonics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine N Wright
- University of Florida, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education, 1200 Newell Dr., Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
| | - Natalie L Johnson
- University of Florida, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education, 1200 Newell Dr., Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Amanda M Dossat
- University of Florida, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education, 1200 Newell Dr., Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Jamie T Wilson
- University of Florida, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education, 1200 Newell Dr., Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Daniel W Wesson
- University of Florida, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education, 1200 Newell Dr., Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
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25
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Hiratani N, Latham PE. Developmental and evolutionary constraints on olfactory circuit selection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2100600119. [PMID: 35263217 PMCID: PMC8931209 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100600119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
SignificanceIn this work, we explore the hypothesis that biological neural networks optimize their architecture, through evolution, for learning. We study early olfactory circuits of mammals and insects, which have relatively similar structure but a huge diversity in size. We approximate these circuits as three-layer networks and estimate, analytically, the scaling of the optimal hidden-layer size with input-layer size. We find that both longevity and information in the genome constrain the hidden-layer size, so a range of allometric scalings is possible. However, the experimentally observed allometric scalings in mammals and insects are consistent with biologically plausible values. This analysis should pave the way for a deeper understanding of both biological and artificial networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoki Hiratani
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom
| | - Peter E. Latham
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London W1T 4JG, United Kingdom
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26
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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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27
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Nagappan S, Franks KM. Parallel processing by distinct classes of principal neurons in the olfactory cortex. eLife 2021; 10:73668. [PMID: 34913870 PMCID: PMC8676325 DOI: 10.7554/elife.73668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how distinct neuron types in a neural circuit process and propagate information is essential for understanding what the circuit does and how it does it. The olfactory (piriform, PCx) cortex contains two main types of principal neurons, semilunar (SL) and superficial pyramidal (PYR) cells. SLs and PYRs have distinct morphologies, local connectivity, biophysical properties, and downstream projection targets. Odor processing in PCx is thought to occur in two sequential stages. First, SLs receive and integrate olfactory bulb input and then PYRs receive, transform, and transmit SL input. To test this model, we recorded from populations of optogenetically identified SLs and PYRs in awake, head-fixed mice. Notably, silencing SLs did not alter PYR odor responses, and SLs and PYRs exhibited differences in odor tuning properties and response discriminability that were consistent with their distinct embeddings within a sensory-associative cortex. Our results therefore suggest that SLs and PYRs form parallel channels for differentially processing odor information in and through PCx.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kevin M Franks
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, United States
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28
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Faour M, Magnan C, Gurden H, Martin C. Olfaction in the context of obesity and diabetes: Insights from animal models to humans. Neuropharmacology 2021; 206:108923. [PMID: 34919903 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The olfactory system is at the crossroad between sensory processing and metabolic sensing. In addition to being the center of detection and identification of food odors, it is a sensor for most of the hormones and nutrients responsible for feeding behavior regulation. The consequences of modifications in body homeostasis, nutrient overload and alteration of this brain network in the pathological condition of food-induced obesity and type 2 diabetes are still not elucidated. The aim of this review was first to use both humans and animal studies to report on the current knowledge of the consequences of obesity and type 2 diabetes on odorant threshold and olfactory perception including identification discrimination and memory. We then discuss how olfactory processing can be modified by an alteration of the metabolic homeostasis of the organism and available elements on pharmacological treatments that regulate olfaction. We focus on data within the olfactory system but also on the interactions between the olfactory system and other brain networks impacted by metabolic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Faour
- Université de Paris, BFA, UMR 8251, CNRS, F-75013, Paris, France
| | | | - Hirac Gurden
- Université de Paris, BFA, UMR 8251, CNRS, F-75013, Paris, France
| | - Claire Martin
- Université de Paris, BFA, UMR 8251, CNRS, F-75013, Paris, France.
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29
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Oh Y, Kwon O, Min SS, Shin YB, Oh MK, Kim M. Multi-Odor Discrimination by Rat Sniffing for Potential Monitoring of Lung Cancer and Diabetes. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21113696. [PMID: 34073351 PMCID: PMC8198436 DOI: 10.3390/s21113696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The discrimination learning of multiple odors, in which multi-odor can be associated with different responses, is important for responding quickly and accurately to changes in the external environment. However, very few studies have been done on multi-odor discrimination by animal sniffing. Herein, we report a novel multi-odor discrimination system by detection rats based on the combination of 2-Choice and Go/No-Go (GNG) tasks into a single paradigm, in which the Go response of GNG was replaced by 2-Choice, for detection of toluene and acetone, which are odor indicators of lung cancer and diabetes, respectively. Three of six trained rats reached performance criterion, in 12 consecutive successful tests within a given set or over 12 sets with a success rate of over 90%. Through a total of 1300 tests, the trained animals (N = 3) showed multi-odor sensing performance with 88% accuracy, 87% sensitivity and 90% specificity. In addition, a dependence of behavior response time on odor concentrations under given concentration conditions was observed, suggesting that the system could be used for quantitative measurements. Furthermore, the animals’ multi-odor sensing performance has lasted for 45 days, indicating long-term stability of the learned multi-odor discrimination. These findings demonstrate that multi-odor discrimination can be achieved by rat sniffing, potentially providing insight into the rapid, accurate and cost-effective multi-odor monitoring in the lung cancer and diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunkwang Oh
- Bionanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) 125 Gwahang-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Korea; (Y.O.); (Y.-B.S.)
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Sungbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea
| | - Ohseok Kwon
- Infectious Disease Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) 125 Gwahang-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Korea;
| | - Sun-Seek Min
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Eulji University School of Medicine, 77 Gyeryong-ro, Jung-gu, Daejeon 34824, Korea;
| | - Yong-Beom Shin
- Bionanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) 125 Gwahang-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Korea; (Y.O.); (Y.-B.S.)
- KRIBB School, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), 217 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34113, Korea
| | - Min-Kyu Oh
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Sungbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea
- Correspondence: (M.-K.O.); (M.K.); Tel.: +82-2-3290-3308 (M.-K.O.); +82-42-879-8447 (M.K.); Fax: +82-2-926-6102 (M.-K.O.); +82-42-879-8594 (M.K.)
| | - Moonil Kim
- Bionanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) 125 Gwahang-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Korea; (Y.O.); (Y.-B.S.)
- KRIBB School, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), 217 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34113, Korea
- Correspondence: (M.-K.O.); (M.K.); Tel.: +82-2-3290-3308 (M.-K.O.); +82-42-879-8447 (M.K.); Fax: +82-2-926-6102 (M.-K.O.); +82-42-879-8594 (M.K.)
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30
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A Neural System that Represents the Association of Odors with Rewarded Outcomes and Promotes Behavioral Engagement. Cell Rep 2021; 32:107919. [PMID: 32697986 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Odors are well known to elicit strong emotional and behavioral responses that become strengthened throughout learning, yet the specific cellular systems involved in odor learning and the direct influence of these on behavior are unclear. Here, we investigate the representation of odor-reward associations within two areas recipient of dense olfactory input, the posterior piriform cortex (pPCX) and the olfactory tubercle (OT), using electrophysiological recordings from mice engaged in reward-based learning. Neurons in both regions represent conditioned odors and do so with similar information content, yet the proportion of neurons recruited by conditioned rewarded odors and the magnitudes and durations of their responses are greater in the OT. Using fiber photometry, we find that OT D1-type dopamine-receptor-expressing neurons flexibly represent odors based on reward associations, and using optogenetics, we show that these neurons influence behavioral engagement. These findings contribute to a model whereby OT D1 neurons support odor-guided motivated behaviors.
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31
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Tanisumi Y, Shiotani K, Hirokawa J, Sakurai Y, Manabe H. Bi-directional encoding of context-based odors and behavioral states by the nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract. iScience 2021; 24:102381. [PMID: 33981970 PMCID: PMC8082085 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract (NLOT) is not only a part of the olfactory cortex that receives olfactory sensory inputs but also a part of the cortical amygdala, which regulates motivational behaviors. To examine how neural activity of the NLOT is modulated by decision-making processes that occur during various states of learned goal-directed behaviors, we recorded NLOT spike activities of mice performing odor-guided go/no-go tasks to obtain a water reward. We observed that several NLOT neurons exhibited sharp go-cue excitation and persistent no-go-cue suppression responses triggered by an odor onset. The bidirectional cue encoding introduced NLOT population response dynamics and provided a high odor decoding accuracy before executing cue-odor-evoked behaviors. The go-cue responsive neurons were also activated in the reward drinking state, indicating context-based odor-outcome associations. These findings suggest that NLOT neurons play an important role in the translation from context-based odor information to appropriate behavior. We recorded NLOT spike activities in the odor-guided goal-directed behaviors NLOT neurons were classified into five response types in the odor-sampling epoch Many NLOT neurons exhibited go-cue excitation and no-go-cue suppression responses The bidirectional responsive neurons were also activated in the reward drinking
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuta Tanisumi
- Laboratory of Neural Information, Graduate School of Brain Science, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe City, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan.,Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiyoda Ward, 102-0083 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazuki Shiotani
- Laboratory of Neural Information, Graduate School of Brain Science, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe City, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan.,Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiyoda Ward, 102-0083 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Junya Hirokawa
- Laboratory of Neural Information, Graduate School of Brain Science, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe City, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan
| | - Yoshio Sakurai
- Laboratory of Neural Information, Graduate School of Brain Science, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe City, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Manabe
- Laboratory of Neural Information, Graduate School of Brain Science, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe City, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan
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32
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The Tubular Striatum. J Neurosci 2021; 40:7379-7386. [PMID: 32968026 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1109-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In the mid-19th century, a misconception was born, which understandably persists in the minds of many neuroscientists today. The eminent scientist Albert von Kölliker named a tubular-shaped piece of tissue found in the brains of all mammals studied to date, the tuberculum olfactorium - or what is commonly known as the olfactory tubercle (OT). In doing this, Kölliker ascribed "olfactory" functions and an "olfactory" purpose to the OT. The OT has since been classified as one of several olfactory cortices. However, further investigations of OT functions, especially over the last decade, have provided evidence for roles of the OT beyond olfaction, including in learning, motivated behaviors, and even seeking of psychoactive drugs. Indeed, research to date suggests caution in assigning the OT with a purely olfactory role. Here, I build on previous research to synthesize a model wherein the OT, which may be more appropriately termed the "tubular striatum" (TuS), is a neural system in which sensory information derived from an organism's experiences is integrated with information about its motivational states to guide affective and behavioral responses.
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33
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Wright KN, Wesson DW. The tubular striatum and nucleus accumbens distinctly represent reward-taking and reward-seeking. J Neurophysiol 2021; 125:166-183. [PMID: 33174477 PMCID: PMC8087377 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00495.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The ventral striatum regulates motivated behaviors that are essential for survival. The ventral striatum contains both the nucleus accumbens (NAc), which is well established to contribute to motivated behavior, and the adjacent tubular striatum (TuS), which is poorly understood in this context. We reasoned that these ventral striatal subregions may be uniquely specialized in their neural representation of goal-directed behavior. To test this, we simultaneously examined TuS and NAc single-unit activity as male mice engaged in a sucrose self-administration task, which included extinction and cue-induced reinstatement sessions. Although background levels of activity were comparable between regions, more TuS neurons were recruited upon reward-taking, and among recruited neurons, TuS neurons displayed greater changes in their firing during reward-taking and extinction than those in the NAc. Conversely, NAc neurons displayed greater changes in their firing during cue-reinstated reward-seeking. Interestingly, at least in the context of this behavioral paradigm, TuS neural activity predicted reward-seeking, whereas NAc activity did not. Together, by directly comparing their dynamics in several behavioral contexts, this work reveals that the NAc and TuS ventral striatum subregions distinctly represent reward-taking and reward-seeking.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The ventral striatum, considered the reward circuitry "hub," is composed of two regions: the NAc, which is well established for its role in reward processing, and the TuS, which has been largely excluded from such studies. This study provides a first step in directly contextualizing the TuS's activity in relation to that in the NAc and, by doing so, establishes a critical framework for future research seeking to better understand the brain basis for drug addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine N Wright
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
| | - Daniel W Wesson
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
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34
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Piette C, Touboul J, Venance L. Engrams of Fast Learning. Front Cell Neurosci 2020; 14:575915. [PMID: 33250712 PMCID: PMC7676431 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2020.575915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Fast learning designates the behavioral and neuronal mechanisms underlying the acquisition of a long-term memory trace after a unique and brief experience. As such it is opposed to incremental, slower reinforcement or procedural learning requiring repetitive training. This learning process, found in most animal species, exists in a large spectrum of natural behaviors, such as one-shot associative, spatial, or perceptual learning, and is a core principle of human episodic memory. We review here the neuronal and synaptic long-term changes associated with fast learning in mammals and discuss some hypotheses related to their underlying mechanisms. We first describe the variety of behavioral paradigms used to test fast learning memories: those preferentially involve a single and brief (from few hundred milliseconds to few minutes) exposures to salient stimuli, sufficient to trigger a long-lasting memory trace and new adaptive responses. We then focus on neuronal activity patterns observed during fast learning and the emergence of long-term selective responses, before documenting the physiological correlates of fast learning. In the search for the engrams of fast learning, a growing body of evidence highlights long-term changes in gene expression, structural, intrinsic, and synaptic plasticities. Finally, we discuss the potential role of the sparse and bursting nature of neuronal activity observed during the fast learning, especially in the induction plasticity mechanisms leading to the rapid establishment of long-term synaptic modifications. We conclude with more theoretical perspectives on network dynamics that could enable fast learning, with an overview of some theoretical approaches in cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Piette
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, College de France, INSERM U1050, CNRS UMR7241, Université PSL, Paris, France.,Department of Mathematics and Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, United States
| | - Jonathan Touboul
- Department of Mathematics and Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, United States
| | - Laurent Venance
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, College de France, INSERM U1050, CNRS UMR7241, Université PSL, Paris, France
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35
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Blazing RM, Franks KM. Odor coding in piriform cortex: mechanistic insights into distributed coding. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 64:96-102. [PMID: 32422571 PMCID: PMC8782565 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Olfaction facilitates a large variety of animal behaviors such as feeding, mating, and communication. Recent work has begun to reveal the logic of odor transformations that occur throughout the olfactory system to form the odor percept. In this review, we describe the coding principles and mechanisms by which the piriform cortex and other olfactory areas encode three key odor features: odor identity, intensity, and valence. We argue that the piriform cortex produces a multiplexed odor code that allows non-interfering representations of distinct features of the odor stimulus to facilitate odor recognition and learning, which ultimately drives behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin M Blazing
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, 27705, United States
| | - Kevin M Franks
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, 27705, United States.
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36
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Hiratani N, Latham PE. Rapid Bayesian learning in the mammalian olfactory system. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3845. [PMID: 32737295 PMCID: PMC7395793 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17490-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Many experimental studies suggest that animals can rapidly learn to identify odors and predict the rewards associated with them. However, the underlying plasticity mechanism remains elusive. In particular, it is not clear how olfactory circuits achieve rapid, data efficient learning with local synaptic plasticity. Here, we formulate olfactory learning as a Bayesian optimization process, then map the learning rules into a computational model of the mammalian olfactory circuit. The model is capable of odor identification from a small number of observations, while reproducing cellular plasticity commonly observed during development. We extend the framework to reward-based learning, and show that the circuit is able to rapidly learn odor-reward association with a plausible neural architecture. These results deepen our theoretical understanding of unsupervised learning in the mammalian brain. How can rodents make sense of the olfactory environment without supervision? Here, the authors formulate olfactory learning as an integrated Bayesian inference problem, then derive a set of synaptic plasticity rules and neural dynamics that enables near-optimal learning of odor identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoki Hiratani
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, 25 Howland Street, London, W1T 4JG, UK.
| | - Peter E Latham
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, 25 Howland Street, London, W1T 4JG, UK
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37
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Oettl LL, Scheller M, Filosa C, Wieland S, Haag F, Loeb C, Durstewitz D, Shusterman R, Russo E, Kelsch W. Phasic dopamine reinforces distinct striatal stimulus encoding in the olfactory tubercle driving dopaminergic reward prediction. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3460. [PMID: 32651365 PMCID: PMC7351739 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17257-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The learning of stimulus-outcome associations allows for predictions about the environment. Ventral striatum and dopaminergic midbrain neurons form a larger network for generating reward prediction signals from sensory cues. Yet, the network plasticity mechanisms to generate predictive signals in these distributed circuits have not been entirely clarified. Also, direct evidence of the underlying interregional assembly formation and information transfer is still missing. Here we show that phasic dopamine is sufficient to reinforce the distinctness of stimulus representations in the ventral striatum even in the absence of reward. Upon such reinforcement, striatal stimulus encoding gives rise to interregional assemblies that drive dopaminergic neurons during stimulus-outcome learning. These assemblies dynamically encode the predicted reward value of conditioned stimuli. Together, our data reveal that ventral striatal and midbrain reward networks form a reinforcing loop to generate reward prediction coding. It is not entirely understood how network plasticity produces the coding of predicted value during stimulus-outcome learning. Here, the authors reveal a reinforcing loop in distributed limbic circuits, transforming sensory stimuli into reward prediction coding broadcasted by dopamine neurons to the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars-Lennart Oettl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany.,Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, London, W1T 4JG, UK
| | - Max Scheller
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Carla Filosa
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Sebastian Wieland
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Franziska Haag
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Cathrin Loeb
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Daniel Durstewitz
- Department of Theoretical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Roman Shusterman
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA
| | - Eleonora Russo
- Department of Theoretical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Wolfgang Kelsch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159, Mannheim, Germany. .,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
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