Spatial-Temporal Responses of Olfactory Bulb Neurons

描述（由申请人提供）：目前尚不完全了解嗅觉系统中存在的空间和时间信息如何代表简单气味的各种特征。虽然嗅球（OB）已经通过单微电极记录和各种成像模式进行了研究，但这些技术在探索存在于OB神经元群体中的潜在复杂相互作用方面受到限制。在研究麻醉药对大鼠嗅球中尖峰神经元各种特性的影响的背景下，使用微电极阵列对自发和气味诱发的神经活动进行电生理记录。通过比较同一动物在清醒和麻醉状态下的记录特征，将研究中间神经元和来自高级脑中心的信息在维持嗅球神经元群中的作用。长期植入并同时记录大鼠大量OB神经元动作电位的微电极阵列，为研究神经元在处理嗅觉信息时的相互作用方式提供了一种独特的手段。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It is not fully understood how spatial and temporal information present in the olfactory system represents the various features of simple odors. Although the olfactory bulb (OB) has been studied with single microelectrode recordings and various imaging modalities, these techniques are limited in their exploration of potentially complex interactions present in a population of OB neurons. Within the context of studying the effects of anesthetic agents on various properties of spiking neurons in the rat olfactory bulb, a microelectrode array be used to make electrophysiologic recordings of both spontaneous and odor-evoked neural activity. By comparing the characteristics of the recordings made in the same animal in the awake and anesthetized state, the role of interneurons and information from higher brain centers in the maintenance of ensembles of neurons in the olfactory bulb will be studied. Microelectrode arrays, chronically implanted and simultaneously recording action potentials from a large number of OB neurons in the rat, offer a unique means of studying the ways ensembles of neurons interact while processing olfactory information.