Most odors are composed of a mixture of many different molecules. Our overall objective is to study the physiological mechanisms by which the first olfactory processing structure, the olfactory bulb, refines complex odor signals, using electrophysiological and calcium imaging methods in rodent olfactory bulb slices, along with electron microscopic methods. Our focus is on synaptic mechanisms that operate within glomeruli, which are structures that act as both the site of input into the bulb from olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in the nose and also the starting point for output signals that pass onto the olfactory cortex. These output signals are carried by mitral cells (MCs). Studies in the three Specific Aims together will test the hypothesis that a small microcircuit of neurons that surround each glomerulus, involving excitatory external tufted (ET) cells and inhibitory periglomerular (PG) cells, dictates whether any particular odor signal passes onto the cortex in the form of MC action potentials. These studies of excitatory mechanisms in the glomerulus in the first two Aims will serve as the basis for experiments in Aim 3 that examine how inhibitory PG cells interact with excitation to suppress MC activation. Selective suppression of weak signals by the ET-PG cell microcircuit could enhance perceptual differences between similar odors and facilitate odor discrimination. Our experiments, studying basic mechanisms of odor discrimination, could also serve as the basis for understanding olfactory deficits associated with many neurological disorders in humans, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia. All of these diseases are known to cause structural changes in the bulb, and our studies showing how certain key elements of the bulb circuit are involved in circuit level processing, will provide the foundation for linking disease-associated structural changes to olfactory dysfunction.

Public Health Relevance

In humans, dysfunctions in the sense of smell are encountered in many neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia. Our studies of the basic mechanisms of information processing in the olfactory bulb will provide the basis for understanding specific disease- associated olfactory deficits and also potential treatments.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01DC006640-06A1
Application #
7984546
Study Section
Somatosensory and Chemosensory Systems Study Section (SCS)
Program Officer
Davis, Barry
Project Start
2004-04-01
Project End
2015-05-31
Budget Start
2010-06-01
Budget End
2011-05-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$317,467
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Colorado Denver
Department
Physiology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
041096314
City
Aurora
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80045
Pouille, Frederic; Schoppa, Nathan E (2018) Cannabinoid Receptors Modulate Excitation of an Olfactory Bulb Local Circuit by Cortical Feedback. Front Cell Neurosci 12:47
Pouille, Frederic; McTavish, Thomas S; Hunter, Lawrence E et al. (2017) Intraglomerular gap junctions enhance interglomerular synchrony in a sparsely connected olfactory bulb network. J Physiol 595:5965-5986
Bourne, Jennifer N; Schoppa, Nathan E (2017) Three-dimensional synaptic analyses of mitral cell and external tufted cell dendrites in rat olfactory bulb glomeruli. J Comp Neurol 525:592-609
Shen, Chong; Rathore, Shailendra S; Yu, Haijia et al. (2015) The trans-SNARE-regulating function of Munc18-1 is essential to synaptic exocytosis. Nat Commun 6:8852
Zak, Joseph D; Whitesell, Jennifer D; Schoppa, Nathan E (2015) Metabotropic glutamate receptors promote disinhibition of olfactory bulb glomeruli that scales with input strength. J Neurophysiol 113:1907-20
Sheridan, D C; Hughes, A R; Erdélyi, F et al. (2014) Matching of feedback inhibition with excitation ensures fidelity of information flow in the anterior piriform cortex. Neuroscience 275:519-30
Whitesell, Jennifer D; Sorensen, Kyle A; Jarvie, Brooke C et al. (2013) Interglomerular lateral inhibition targeted on external tufted cells in the olfactory bulb. J Neurosci 33:1552-63
Gire, David H; Franks, Kevin M; Zak, Joseph D et al. (2012) Mitral cells in the olfactory bulb are mainly excited through a multistep signaling path. J Neurosci 32:2964-75
Gire, David H; Schoppa, Nathan E (2009) Control of on/off glomerular signaling by a local GABAergic microcircuit in the olfactory bulb. J Neurosci 29:13454-64
Luna, Victor M; Schoppa, Nathan E (2008) GABAergic circuits control input-spike coupling in the piriform cortex. J Neurosci 28:8851-9

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