Habituation, a simple form of nonassociative memory, is a common feature of sensory systems and is characterized as a decrease in responsiveness to repeated stimuli. Sensory habituation allows filtering of less significant, or predictable events than other mechanisms such as receptor adaptation. Disorders of sensory filtering have been implicated in disease states such as autism. The present proposal examines mechanisms of olfactory habituation in the anterior piriform cortex (aPCX). The aPCX is an ideal model system to study habituation because of its relatively simple and well described synaptic organization, and the extensive knowledge of its synaptic physiology. Preliminary results demonstrate that aPCX neurons habituate more rapidly than simultaneously recorded afferent activity from the main olfactory bulb, and that this habituation is associated with a decrease in afferent synaptic efficacy. The proposed work is divided into four basic experiments. The first will further describe odor habituation in the aPCX and main olfactory bulb, with particular attention paid to characterizing its time course and odor specificity. Specific responses will be correlated with cell morphology and location by intracellular filling and imaging of recorded cells. The second experiment will further examine synaptic correlates of odor habituation by measuring the efficacy of identified synapses within the aPCX. (This aim has already been partially met by results obtained since the application was submitted, that indicate that there is a decrease in synaptic afferents with odor habituation.) The third and fourth experiments will test specific hypotheses of odor response plasticity with a combination of intracellular recording and pharmacological manipulations. The third is specifically aimed at the role of decreased excitation in odor habituation, particularly LTD mediated through NMDA receptors. The fourth will examine the role of increased inhibition in habituation, produced through either GABAA or GABAB receptors. Together, it is hoped that these studies will provide important information into both the mechanisms of habituation and synaptic mechanisms of information processing in the olfactory system.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DC003906-03
Application #
6329237
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-IFCN-4 (01))
Program Officer
Davis, Barry
Project Start
1998-12-01
Project End
2002-11-30
Budget Start
2000-12-01
Budget End
2001-11-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$107,834
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Oklahoma Norman
Department
Zoology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
848348348
City
Norman
State
OK
Country
United States
Zip Code
73019
Courtiol, Emmanuelle; Neiman, Michelle; Fleming, Gloria et al. (2018) A specific olfactory cortico-thalamic pathway contributing to sampling performance during odor reversal learning. Brain Struct Funct :
Cohen, Yaniv; Wilson, Donald A (2017) Task-Correlated Cortical Asymmetry and Intra- and Inter-Hemispheric Separation. Sci Rep 7:14602
Karunanayaka, Prasanna R; Wilson, Donald A; Tobia, Michael J et al. (2017) Default mode network deactivation during odor-visual association. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1125-1139
Courtiol, Emmanuelle; Wilson, Donald A (2017) The Olfactory Mosaic: Bringing an Olfactory Network Together for Odor Perception. Perception 46:320-332
Perry, Rosemarie E; Al Aïn, Syrina; Raineki, Charlis et al. (2016) Development of Odor Hedonics: Experience-Dependent Ontogeny of Circuits Supporting Maternal and Predator Odor Responses in Rats. J Neurosci 36:6634-50
Olofsson, Jonas K; Josefsson, Maria; Ekström, Ingrid et al. (2016) Long-term episodic memory decline is associated with olfactory deficits only in carriers of ApoE-?4. Neuropsychologia 85:1-9
Schneider, Nanette Y; Datiche, Frédérique; Wilson, Donald A et al. (2016) Brain processing of a configural vs elemental odor mixture in the newborn rabbit. Brain Struct Funct 221:2527-39
Courtiol, Emmanuelle; Wilson, Donald A (2016) Neural Representation of Odor-Guided Behavior in the Rat Olfactory Thalamus. J Neurosci 36:5946-60
Baslow, Morris H; Cain, Christopher K; Sears, Robert et al. (2016) Stimulation-induced transient changes in neuronal activity, blood flow and N-acetylaspartate content in rat prefrontal cortex: a chemogenetic fMRS-BOLD study. NMR Biomed 29:1678-1687
Kimball, Bruce A; Wilson, Donald A; Wesson, Daniel W (2016) Alterations of the volatile metabolome in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. Sci Rep 6:19495

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