Information Coding in the Olfactory Cortex

描述(申请人提供)：这里提出的研究将进一步定义来自外周嗅觉神经元的气味信息是如何由气味感受器(ORs)编码的，以及它在进入嗅皮层(OC)的过程中是如何组织的。将进行筛选，以识别识别硫醇和结构相似的气味的其他ORs，这些气味具有高度不同的定性特征(例如，具有恶臭的己硫醇和具有甜味的己醇)。这将通过使用钙成像和单细胞聚合酶链式反应分离的小鼠嗅觉神经元来完成。识别相同气味的相似和不同序列的ORS将以敲打蛋白结构为靶点，导致差异标记的跨神经元示踪剂(大麦凝集素)的共同表达。用免疫组织化学方法测定单次敲击和双重敲击动物的OC中含有BL的区域。这将允许确定OC的多个OR输入的重叠。除了帮助阐明OR结构与气味检测的关系外，这些实验还将确定OC的OR输入是否按OR的功能和/或结构组织。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The research proposed here will define further how odor information from peripheral olfactory sensory neurons is encoded by odorant receptors (ORs) and also how it is organized as it progresses to the olfactory cortex (OC). A screen will be performed to identify additional ORs that recognize thiols and structurally similar odorants with highly divergent qualitative features (e.g. hexanethiol, which has a foul odor, and hexanol, which has a sweet smell). This will be accomplished with dissociated mouse olfactory sensory neurons using Ca++ imaging and single cell PCR. ORs of similar and divergent sequences recognizing the same odorant will be targeted with knockin constructs, resulting in coexpression of differentially tagged transneuronal tracers (barley lectin). Areas of the OC containing BL will be determined with immunohistochemistry in both single and double knockin animals. This will allow determination of the overlap of multiple OR inputs to the OC. In addition to helping illuminate how OR structure is related to odorant detection, these experiments will determine whether OR inputs to the OC are organized by function and/or structure of the OR.