Locus coeruleus and processing of olfactory social cues

描述（由申请人提供）：“自下而上”的感觉表征是由“自上而下”的影响形成的，如行为状态和注意力。哺乳动物的嗅觉一直是一个非常感兴趣的主题，因为它的基本受体单位的发现，但很少有人知道如何受体为基础的编码机制与中央反馈的主要嗅球（MOB）的预测。肾上腺素能蓝斑（LC）传递有关唤醒和注意力的信息。去甲肾上腺素（NE）在几种嗅觉学习行为中起作用，并对体外MOB回路有已知的影响。本研究将探讨如何LC输入形状表征的个人身份所携带的尿液挥发物。实验将：1）观察清醒小鼠在社会嗅觉互动和学习期间的LC活性2）。测试LC激活对MOB神经元的气味反应和嗅觉感知的特定持续影响3.）确定这种嗅觉可塑性的细胞回路机制。这些研究将提供一个难得的机会，以检查唤醒和注意的影响，对行为学相关的看法。它们通常还与认知灵活性机制和相关病理学（如注意缺陷多动障碍）有关。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 'Bottom up' sensory representations are shaped by 'top down1 influences, such as behavioral state and attention. Mammalian olfaction has been a subject of intense interest since the discovery of its fundamental receptor units, but little is known about how receptor-based coding mechanisms interact with central feedback projections in the main olfactory bulb (MOB). The adrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) transmits information about arousal and attention. Norepinephrine (NE) plays a role in several olfactory learning behaviors and has known effects on MOB circuitry in vitro. This study will investigate how LC input shapes representations of individual identity carried by urine volatiles. Experiments will: 1) observe LC activity in awake mice during social olfactory interaction and learning 2.) test the specific lasting effects of LC activation on odor responses of MOB neurons and olfactory perception 3.) determine the cellular circuit mechanisms of this olfactory plasticity. These studies will provide a rare opportunity to examine the effects of arousal and attention on ethologically relevant perception. They are also generally relevant to mechanisms of cognitive flexibility and related pathologies such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.