scholarly journals Encoding the expectation of a sensory stimulus

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijun Zhang ◽  
Alex Chen ◽  
Debajit Saha ◽  
Chao Li ◽  
Baranidharan Raman
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Antennal Lobe ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Negative Image ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Response Optimization ◽  
Stimulus Identity ◽  
Repetitive Stimulus

AbstractMost organisms possess an ability to differentiate unexpected or surprising sensory stimuli from those that are repeatedly encountered. How is this sensory computation performed? We examined this issue in the locust olfactory system. We found that odor-evoked responses in the antennal lobe (downstream to sensory neurons) systematically reduced upon repeated encounters of a temporally discontinuous stimulus. Rather than confounding information about stimulus identity and intensity, neural representations were optimized to encode equivalent stimulus-specific information with fewer spikes. Further, spontaneous activity of the antennal lobe network also changed systematically and became negatively correlated with the response elicited by the repetitive stimulus (i.e. ‘a negative image’). Notably, while response to the repetitive stimulus reduced, exposure to an unexpected/deviant cue generated undamped and even exaggerated spiking responses in several neurons. In sum, our results reveal how expectation regarding a stimulus is encoded in a neural circuit to allow response optimization and preferential filtering.

scholarly journals Maternally inherited peptides as strain-specific chemosignals

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (48) ◽  
pp. 30738-30743
Author(s):  
Hideto Kaba ◽  
Hiroko Fujita ◽  
Takeshi Agatsuma ◽  
Hiroaki Matsunami
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Inbred Strains ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Maternal Lineage ◽  
Maternal Bonding ◽  
Terminal Amino ◽  
Nadh Dehydrogenases

Most mammals rely on chemosensory cues for individual recognition, which is essential to many aspects of social behavior, such as maternal bonding, mate recognition, and inbreeding avoidance. Both volatile molecules and nonvolatile peptides secreted by individual conspecifics are detected by olfactory sensory neurons in the olfactory epithelium and the vomeronasal organ. The pertinent cues used for individual recognition remain largely unidentified. Here we show that nonformylated, but notN-formylated, mitochondrially encoded peptides—that is, the nine N-terminal amino acids of NADH dehydrogenases 1 and 2—can be used to convey strain-specific information among individual mice. We demonstrate that these nonformylated peptides are sufficient to induce a strain-selective pregnancy block. We also observed that the pregnancy block by an unfamiliar peptide derived from a male of a different strain was prevented by a memory formed at the time of mating with that male. Our findings also demonstrate that pregnancy-blocking chemosignals in the urine are maternally inherited, as evidenced by the production of reciprocal sons from two inbred strains and our test of their urine’s ability to block pregnancy. We propose that this link between polymorphic mitochondrial peptides and individual recognition provides the molecular means to communicate an individual’s maternal lineage and strain.

scholarly journals A novel device for real-time measurement and manipulation of licking behavior in head-fixed mice

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (6) ◽  
pp. 2975-2987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brice Williams ◽  
Anderson Speed ◽  
Bilal Haider
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Visual Behavior ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Neural Recordings ◽  
Control Signals ◽  
Sensory Motor

The mouse has become an influential model system for investigating the mammalian nervous system. Technologies in mice enable recording and manipulation of neural circuits during tasks where they respond to sensory stimuli by licking for liquid rewards. Precise monitoring of licking during these tasks provides an accessible metric of sensory-motor processing, particularly when combined with simultaneous neural recordings. There are several challenges in designing and implementing lick detectors during head-fixed neurophysiological experiments in mice. First, mice are small, and licking behaviors are easily perturbed or biased by large sensors. Second, neural recordings during licking are highly sensitive to electrical contact artifacts. Third, submillisecond lick detection latencies are required to generate control signals that manipulate neural activity at appropriate time scales. Here we designed, characterized, and implemented a contactless dual-port device that precisely measures directional licking in head-fixed mice performing visual behavior. We first determined the optimal characteristics of our detector through design iteration and then quantified device performance under ideal conditions. We then tested performance during head-fixed mouse behavior with simultaneous neural recordings in vivo. We finally demonstrate our device’s ability to detect directional licks and generate appropriate control signals in real time to rapidly suppress licking behavior via closed-loop inhibition of neural activity. Our dual-port detector is cost effective and easily replicable, and it should enable a wide variety of applications probing the neural circuit basis of sensory perception, motor action, and learning in normal and transgenic mouse models. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Mice readily learn tasks in which they respond to sensory cues by licking for liquid rewards; tasks that involve multiple licking responses allow study of neural circuits underlying decision making and sensory-motor integration. Here we design, characterize, and implement a novel dual-port lick detector that precisely measures directional licking in head-fixed mice performing visual behavior, enabling simultaneous neural recording and closed-loop manipulation of licking.

scholarly journals Dynamic contrast enhancement and flexible odor codes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srinath Nizampatnam ◽  
Debajit Saha ◽  
Rishabh Chandak ◽  
Baranidharan Raman
Keyword(s):  
Contrast Enhancement ◽  
Antennal Lobe ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Computational Logic ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Dynamic Contrast Enhancement ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Temporal Features ◽  
The Stability

ABSTRACTSensory stimuli evoke spiking activities patterned across neurons and time that are hypothesized to encode information about their identity. Since the same stimulus can be encountered in a multitude of ways, how stable or flexible are these stimulus-evoked responses? Here, we examined this issue in the locust olfactory system. In the antennal lobe, we found that both spatial and temporal features of odor-evoked responses varied in a stimulus-history dependent manner. The response variations were not random, but allowed the antennal lobe circuit to enhance the uniqueness of the current stimulus. Nevertheless, information about the odorant identity became confounded due to this contrast-enhancement computation. Notably, a linear logical classifier (OR-of-ANDs) that can decode information distributed in flexible subsets of neurons generated predictions that matched results from our behavioral experiments. In sum, our results reveal a simple computational logic for achieving the stability vs. flexibility tradeoff in sensory coding.

scholarly journals Fast Intensity Adaptation Enhances the Encoding of Sound in Drosophila

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Clemens ◽  
Nofar Ozeri-Engelhard ◽  
Mala Murthy
Keyword(s):  
Pattern Recognition ◽  
Computational Model ◽  
Auditory System ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Sound Intensity ◽  
Courtship Song ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Complex Stimuli ◽  
Mean And Variance

AbstractTo faithfully encode complex stimuli, sensory neurons should correct, via adaptation, for stimulus properties that corrupt pattern recognition. Here, we investigate sound intensity adaptation in the Drosophila auditory system, which is largely devoted to processing courtship song. Mechanosensory neurons (JONs) in the antenna are sensitive not only to sound-induced antennal vibrations, but also to wind or gravity, which affect the antenna’s mean position. Song pattern recognition therefore requires adaptation to antennal position (stimulus mean) in addition to sound intensity (stimulus variance). We discover fast variance adaptation in Drosophila JONs, which corrects for background noise over the behaviorally relevant intensity range. We determine where mean and variance adaptation arises and how they interact. A computational model explains our results using a sequence of subtractive and divisive adaptation modules, interleaved by rectification. These results lay the foundation for identifying the molecular and biophysical implementation of adaptation to the statistics of natural sensory stimuli.

scholarly journals Aversive Learning Increases Release Probability of Olfactory Sensory Neurons

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janardhan P. Bhattarai ◽  
Mary Schreck ◽  
Andrew H. Moberly ◽  
Wenqin Luo ◽  
Minghong Ma
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Receptor Expression ◽  
Olfactory Sensory Neurons ◽  
Aversive Learning ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Release Probability ◽  
Synaptic Release ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Peripheral Sensory ◽  
Cortical Influence

AbstractPredicting danger from previously associated sensory stimuli is essential for survival. Contributions from altered peripheral sensory inputs are implicated in this process, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here we use the mammalian olfactory system to investigate such mechanisms. Primary olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) project their axons directly to the olfactory bulb (OB) glomeruli where their synaptic release is subject to local and cortical influence and neuromodulation. Pairing optogenetic activation of a single glomerulus with foot shock in mice induces freezing to the light stimulation alone during fear retrieval. This is accompanied by an increase in OSN release probability and a reduction in GABAB receptor expression in the conditioned glomerulus. Furthermore, freezing time is positively correlated with the release probability of OSNs in fear conditioned mice. These results suggest that aversive learning increases peripheral olfactory inputs at the first synapse, which may contribute to the behavioral outcome.

scholarly journals Decoding a neural circuit controlling global animal state in C. elegans

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Laurent ◽  
Zoltan Soltesz ◽  
Geoffrey M Nelson ◽  
Changchun Chen ◽  
Fausto Arellano-Carbajal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Behavioral State ◽  
Global State ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Neural Imaging ◽  
Neural Genes ◽  
O2 Concentration ◽  
High O2 ◽  
O2 Sensing

Brains organize behavior and physiology to optimize the response to threats or opportunities. We dissect how 21% O2, an indicator of surface exposure, reprograms C. elegans' global state, inducing sustained locomotory arousal and altering expression of neuropeptides, metabolic enzymes, and other non-neural genes. The URX O2-sensing neurons drive arousal at 21% O2 by tonically activating the RMG interneurons. Stimulating RMG is sufficient to switch behavioral state. Ablating the ASH, ADL, or ASK sensory neurons connected to RMG by gap junctions does not disrupt arousal. However, disrupting cation currents in these neurons curtails RMG neurosecretion and arousal. RMG signals high O2 by peptidergic secretion. Neuropeptide reporters reveal neural circuit state, as neurosecretion stimulates neuropeptide expression. Neural imaging in unrestrained animals shows that URX and RMG encode O2 concentration rather than behavior, while the activity of downstream interneurons such as AVB and AIY reflect both O2 levels and the behavior being executed.

scholarly journals Comparative neuroethology of feeding control in molluscs

2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (7) ◽  
pp. 877-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. H. Elliott ◽  
A. J. Susswein
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Functional Properties ◽  
Neural Control ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Internal State ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Carnivorous Species ◽  
Capture Techniques

SUMMARY Over the last 30 years, many laboratories have examined, in parallel, the feeding behaviour of gastropod molluscs and the properties of the nervous system that give rise to this behaviour. Equal attention to both behavioural and neurobiological issues has provided deep insight into the functioning of the nervous system in generating and controlling behaviour. The conclusions derived from studies on gastropod feeding are generally consistent with those from other systems, but often provide more detailed information on the behavioural function of a particular property of the nervous system. A review of the literature on gastropod feeding illustrates a number of important messages. (i) Many of the herbivorous gastropods display similarities in behaviour that are reflected in corresponding similarities in neural anatomy,pharmacology and physiology. By contrast, the same aspects of the behaviour of different carnivorous species are quite variable, possibly because of their specialised prey-capture techniques. Nonetheless, some aspects of the neural control of feeding are preserved. (ii) Feeding in all species is flexible,with the behaviour and the physiology adapting to changes in the current environment and internal state and as a result of past experience. Flexibility arises via processes that may take place at many neural sites, and much of the modulation underlying behavioural flexibility is understood at a systems and at a cellular level. (iii) Neurones seem to have specific functions that are consistent with their endogenous properties and their synaptic connections, suggesting that individual neurones code specific pieces of information (i.e. they are `grandmother cells'). However, the properties of a neurone can be extremely complex and can be understood only in the context of the complete neural circuit and the behaviour that it controls. In systems that are orders of magnitude more complex, it would be impossible to understand the functional properties of an individual neurone, even if it also coded specific information. (iv) Systems such as gastropod feeding may provide a model for understanding the functional properties of more complex systems.

scholarly journals Interplay between axonal Wnt5-Vang and dendritic Wnt5-Drl/Ryk signaling controls glomerular patterning in the Drosophila antennal lobe

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huey Hing ◽  
Jennifer Snyder ◽  
Noah Reger ◽  
Lee G. Fradkin
Keyword(s):  
Antennal Lobe ◽  
Planar Cell Polarity ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Projection Neuron ◽  
Olfactory Receptor Neurons ◽  
Antibody Staining ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
Receptor Neurons ◽  
Signaling Components ◽  
Biphasic Responses

Despite the importance of dendritic targeting in neural circuit assembly, the mechanisms by which it is controlled still remain incompletely understood. We previously showed that in the developing Drosophila antennal lobe, the Wnt5 protein forms a gradient that directs the ~45° rotation of a cluster of projection neuron (PN) dendrites, including the adjacent DA1 and VA1d dendrites. We report here that the Van Gogh (Vang) transmembrane planar cell polarity (PCP) protein is required for the rotation of the DA1/VA1d dendritic pair. Cell type-specific rescue and mosaic analyses showed that Vang functions in the olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), suggesting a codependence of ORN axonal and PN dendritic targeting. Loss of Vang suppressed the repulsion of the VA1d dendrites by Wnt5, indicating that Wnt5 signals through Vang to direct the rotation of the DA1 and VA1d glomeruli. We observed that the Derailed (Drl)/Ryk atypical receptor tyrosine kinase is also required for the rotation of the DA1/VA1d dendritic pair. Antibody staining showed that Drl/Ryk is much more highly expressed by the DA1 dendrites than the adjacent VA1d dendrites. Mosaic and epistatic analyses showed that Drl/Ryk specifically functions in the DA1 dendrites in which it antagonizes the Wnt5-Vang repulsion and mediates the migration of the DA1 glomerulus towards Wnt5. Thus, the nascent DA1 and VA1d glomeruli appear to exhibit Drl/Ryk-dependent biphasic responses to Wnt5. Our work shows that the final patterning of the fly olfactory map is the result of an interplay between ORN axons and PN dendrites, wherein converging pre- and postsynaptic processes contribute key Wnt5 signaling components, allowing Wnt5 to orient the rotation of nascent synapses through a PCP mechanism.

The olfactory memory of the honeybee Apis mellifera. III. Bilateral sensory input is necessary for induction and expression of olfactory blocking.

1997 ◽  
Vol 200 (14) ◽  
pp. 2045-2055 ◽  
Author(s):  
R S Thorn ◽  
B H Smith
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Antennal Lobe ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Olfactory Memory ◽  
Brain Hemispheres ◽  
Central Processing ◽  
Mechanistic Basis ◽  
The Brain

The associative learning phenomenon termed 'blocking' demonstrates that animals do not necessarily associate a conditioned stimulus (e.g. X) with reinforcement if X is coincident with a second conditioned stimulus (e.g. A) that had already been associated with the same reinforcement. Blocking therefore represents a tactic that animals can use to modulate associative learning in order to focus on the most predictive stimuli at the expense of novel ones. Using an olfactory blocking paradigm in the honeybee, we investigated the mechanistic basis for olfactory blocking. We show that removing input from one antenna eliminates the blocking of one odor by another. Since antennal sensory neurons only project to the ipsilateral antennal lobe in the honeybee, more central processing regions of the brain than the antennae must be crucial for establishing blocking. Further experiments show that this bilateral interaction between brain hemispheres is crucial during both the induction and the expression of blocking. This result implies that blocking involves an active inhibition of odor association and recall, and that this inhibition is mediated by a structure that spans both brain hemispheres. This interpretation is consistent with a role for identified bilateral modulatory neurons in the production of blocking.

Olfactory Microcircuits in Drosophila Melanogaster

2017 ◽  
pp. 361-368
Author(s):  
Jürgen Rybak ◽  
Bill S. Hansson
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Mushroom Body ◽  
Antennal Lobe ◽  
Odorant Receptor ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Order Processing ◽  
Vinegar Fly ◽  
Maxillary Palps

In the vinegar fly (Drosophila melanogaster), the neuronal pathway that processes olfactory information is organized into multiple layers: a peripheral set of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs); the primary olfactory center, or antennal lobe (AL); and two second-order neuropils, the mushroom body (MB) and lateral horn (LH). Odorants are detected by the dendrites of OSNs housed in sensilla on the maxillary palps and antennae. The OSN axons converge onto spherical synaptic neuropil within the AL termed glomeruli. OSNs that express the same odorant receptor project to the same glomerulus in a one-to-one fashion, forming discrete olfactory pathways. In the AL, a network of local interneurons (LNs) and projection neurons (PNs) contribute to the first-order processing within the glomeruli. Two types of PNs constitute the principal, parallel output pathways made by PN axons that end in the second-order neuropils of the MB and LH: uniglomerular PNs (uPNs) and multiglomerular PNs (mPNs).

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