Glomeruli as Functional Units for Coding in Olfaction

了解嗅觉最紧迫的问题之一是 了解将编码信息从鼻子传送到 个脑袋 周围神经细胞或神经元形成功能性接触， 与中枢神经元的突触 第一个突触传递发生在解剖学上， 这些细胞群被称为肾小球，它们在整个血管中共享这种基本组织。 从龙虾、昆虫、蜗牛、鱼到人类的广泛系统发育范围的动物。 这些嗅球的细胞簇，就像视觉中的神经盒， 皮质桶接触，被认为在刺激中发挥重要作用， 识别，但其在中央嗅觉识别中的作用仍然未知。 这 项目使用生理学、药理学和免疫细胞化学 技术上的不同形态区域内的肾小球在 龙虾作为模型系统。 结果将确定肾小球的气味选择性， 并确定区域收敛后处理在多大程度上 并且在肾小球之间可以形成肾小球的气味选择性。 这项研究将为嗅觉神经整合提供新的视角， 中央处理的第一阶段，并将产生的影响不仅仅是 化学感觉神经科学对大脑功能的研究， 网络，并了解如何识别环境刺激是 融入行为。

One of the most pressing issues in understanding the sense of smell is to understand the mechanisms that carry coded information from the nose into the brain. The peripheral nerve cells, or neurons, form functional contacts called synapses with central neurons. The first synaptic relay occurs in anatomical clusters of cells called glomeruli, sharing this fundamental organization across a wide phylogenetic range animals from lobsters, insects, snails, fish and humans. These cell clusters of olfactory glomeruli, like the neural cartridges in vision and cortical barrels in touch, are thought to play an important role in stimulus recognition, but their role in central olfactory recognition remains unknown. This project uses physiological, pharmacological and immunocytochemical techniques on the distinct morphological regions within the glomeruli in the lobster as a model system. Results will define the odor selectivity of glomeruli, and determine the extent to which regional post-convergent processing within and among glomeruli can shape the odor selectivity of a glomerulus. This study will give new insight into neural integration of olfaction at the crucial first stage of central processing, and will have an impact beyond simply chemosensory neuroscience to brain function in general, to modeling of neural networks, and to understanding how recognition of environmental stimuli is integrated into behavior.