Modulation of olfactory bulb processing by centrifugal projections from piriform

描述(申请人提供)：感觉神经科学的一个主要目标是了解神经活动如何在清醒的、行为正常的受试者中形成感知和指导行为。清醒动物感觉处理的一个主要组成部分是根据行为背景过滤感觉信息。这项建议的第一个目标是使用清醒、行为正常的小鼠嗅球的神经记录来确定嗅觉系统早期阶段存在的行为过滤程度。第二个目标是研究从皮质反馈的离心式投射在控制这种过滤中所起的作用。第二个目标将通过病毒转导光激活蛋白来选择性地阻断小鼠基于嗅觉的行为中来自嗅觉(梨状)皮质的反馈。嗅觉系统之所以被选择用于这些研究，是因为它与小鼠的行为学相关，以及它从梨状皮质到嗅球的明确的皮质分离反馈。由于这些嗅觉反馈投影类似于在其他感觉系统中看到的皮质-丘脑反馈，我们的研究将适用于跨模式感觉过滤的一般机制，并将与影响感觉过滤的障碍特别相关，如精神分裂症和自闭症谱系障碍。 公共卫生相关性：这项建议中的研究将调查行为背景在感官过滤中所起的作用，以及这种过滤发生的可能神经机制。这些研究将适用于涉及感觉过滤缺陷的精神障碍，如精神分裂症和自闭症谱系障碍。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A chief goal of sensory neuroscience is to understand how neural activity forms perception and guides behavior in awake, behaving subjects. A main component of sensory processing in awake animals involves the filtering of sensory information based upon behavioral context. The first goal of this proposal is to use neural recordings from the olfactory bulbs of awake, behaving mice to ascertain the degree of behavioral filtering present in the early stages of the olfactory system. The second goal is to examine the roles that feedback centrifugal projections from the cortex play in controlling this filtering. The second goal will be achieved using viral transduction of light-activated proteins to selectively block feedback from the olfactory (piriform) cortex during olfactory-based behaviors in mice. The olfactory system has been chosen for these studies based upon its clear ethological relevance for mice, as well as its well-defined corticofugal feedback from the piriform cortex to the olfactory bulb. Since these olfactory feedback projections resemble cortico-thalamic feedback seen in other sensory systems, our studies will be applicable to general mechanisms of sensory filtering across modalities, and will have particular relevance to disorders that impact sensory filtering, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The studies within this proposal will investigate the role that behavioral context plays in sensory filtering, as well as possible neural mechanisms through which this filtering occurs. These studies will have applicability to psychiatric disorders that involve deficits in sensory filtering, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders.