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Published November 1999 | public
Journal Article

Odor- and context-dependent modulation of mitral cell activity in behaving rats

Abstract

The projections and odor responses of mammalian olfactory receptor neurons, as well as the physiology of the bulb's principal neurons—the mitral cells (MCs)—are known from studies in slices and anesthetized animals. In behaving rats trained to discriminate between two odors associated with different reinforcers, we examined MC responses following alternated odor−reinforcer pairings. Whereas only 11% of the recorded MCs showed changes in odor-selective firing rate during the odor-sampling phase, 94% of MCs modulated activity during specific behaviors surrounding odor sampling. These cell- and odor-selective responses were not primary sensory responses; rather, they depended (reversibly) on the predictive value of each odor. MC activity thus depends critically on efferent influences linked to the animal's experience and behavior.

Additional Information

© 1999 Nature America Inc. Received 15 July; Accepted 2 September 1999. We are grateful to Steven Notari, Vali Mohammadi, Lindsey Drake and Maryellen Begley for assistance with surgery, electronics, histology and animal handling, to Lucia Jacobs for the loan of behavioral equipment (NSF grant IBN-9307317), to Mark Stopfer and Brian Smith for statistical advice, to Christophe Pouzat for assistance with the silicon probe recordings and to Erin Schuman, Rainer Friedrich and Mark Stopfer for comments on the manuscript. Silicon probes were obtained from the University of Michigan Center for Neural Communication Technology (NIH/NCRR grant P41-RR09754). Supported by grants from the Sloan Center for Theoretical Neuroscience at Caltech, the Keck Foundation, the Burroughs-Wellcome Center for Computational Molecular Biology at Caltech, the NSF and the NIDCD.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 23, 2023