Experience dependent changes of sensory representation in the olfactory cortex
Biomedicine Research Institute of Buenos Aires
Abstract
Sensory representations are typically thought as neuronal activity patterns that encode physical attributes of the outside world. However, increasing evidence is showing that as animals learned the association between a sensory stimulus and its behavioral relevance, stimulus representation in sensory cortical areas can change. In this seminar I will present recent experiments from our lab showing that the activity in the olfactory piriform cortex (PC) of mice encodes not only odor information, but also non-olfactory variables associated with the behavioral task. By developing an associative olfactory learning task, in which animals learn to associate a particular context with an odor and a reward, we were able to record the activity of multiple neurons as the animal runs in a virtual reality corridor. By analyzing the population activity dynamics using Principal Components Analysis, we find different population trajectories evolving through time that can discriminate aspects of different trial types. By using Generalized Linear Models we further dissected the contribution of different sensory and non-sensory variables to the modulation of PC activity. Interestingly, the experiments show that variables related to both sensory and non-sensory aspects of the task (e.g., odor, context, reward, licking, sniffing rate and running speed) differently modulate PC activity, suggesting that the PC adapt odor processing depending on experience and behavior.
Topics
Related Seminars
Finding Meaning in Memories
Daphna Shohamy and Ashok Litwin-Kumar bridge experimental and computational neuroscience to explain how the brain assigns significance to memories, how dopamine shapes memory-guided decisions, and…
Deciphering the Dynamics of the Unconscious Brain under General Anesthesia
Stanford Neurosciences Seminar Series talk by Emery Brown (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Neuroscience Statistics Research Lab) on deciphering the dynamics of the unconscious brain under…
The Connectome in Use: From anatomical wiring to functional organization in the behaving C. elegans brain
Rani Borbara presents brain-wide recordings from more than 150 freely moving C. elegans to examine how anatomical connectivity becomes functional organization during behavior. Cross-animal models…
Related Job Opportunities
Postdoctoral Scientist - Sarvestani Lab
The Sarvestani Lab at Cornell University is recruiting a postdoctoral scientist in systems neuroscience to study how visual and motor systems across the brain and body support perception and…
PhD Studentship: Mitochondrial Metabolism and Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) (Fixed Term)
Supervisors: Professor Andrew Murray, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge Dr Ross Lindsay, Novo Nordisk Funding: Fully funded PhD studentship (Home/UK…
Research Associate (Fixed Term)
We seek a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the laboratory of Professor Kathy Niakan. We are based in the Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research (LCTR), in the Department of…