The function of the primary olfactory pathway

鱼类在生活的许多方面都依赖嗅觉--躲避捕食者、繁殖、进食，甚至照顾父母。 低至皮摩尔范围的气味浓度能够产生戏剧性的行为变化。虽然对嗅觉系统的理解已经取得了很大的进步，但关于其组织和功能的基本问题仍然没有答案。我们的长期目标是了解完全生活在水生环境中的脊椎动物中嗅觉通路功能不同子集的组织和发展，以及这些子系统在进化过程中是如何出现的。 与这个想法相一致，我们将专注于亚群的嗅觉感觉神经元，和辅助嗅觉器官，解剖学上的鼻结构与可能的化学感觉特性的七鳃鳗，无颌（agnathan）鱼的古老起源，是一个姐妹组的gnathostomes。 我们将测试的假设，这些细胞1）具有不同的超微结构，功能，生化和受体特性，2）在空间上不同的球状领土在嗅球传递突触信息。 最后，我们将采取基于活性的mRNA组织学方法来研究携带与特定嗅觉行为相关的信息的嗅觉通路的发展。除了为渔业和水产养殖业提供有关鱼类嗅觉能力和发育的信息外，这项对鱼类的研究还为了解嗅觉系统的功能和进化提供了重要模型。了解嗅觉通路中细胞亚群的神经解剖学、组成、功能和发育，将为未来研究阐明嗅觉感觉输入对复杂行为反应的机制奠定基础。

Fish rely on olfaction for many facets of life - predator avoidance, reproduction, feeding and even parental care. Odour concentrations, as low as the picomolar range, are able to generate dramatic behavioural changes. Although great strides have been made towards understanding the olfactory system, basic questions regarding its organization and function remain unanswered. Our longterm goals are to understand the organization and development of functionally distinct subsets of the olfactory pathway in vertebrates that live entirely in an aquatic environment, and how these sub-systems arose during evolution. Consistent with this idea, we will focus on subpopulations of olfactory sensory neurons, and the accessory olfactory organ, an anatomically linked nasal structure with possible chemosensory properties in the lamprey, a jawless (agnathan) fish of ancient origin that is a sister group to the gnathostomes. We will test the hypotheses that these cells 1) possess distinct ultrastructural, functional, biochemical and receptor properties, 2) transmit synaptic information in spatially distinct glomerular territories in the olfactory bulb. Lastly, we will take an activity- based mRNA histological approach for investigating the development of an olfactory pathway that carries information associated with a specific olfactory behaviour. In addition to providing information for the fisheries and aquaculture industry regarding fish olfactory capabilities and development, this research on fish serves as an significant model for understanding the function and evolution of the olfactory system. Understanding the neuroanatomy, composition, function and development of the cellular subpopulations within the olfactory pathway, will lay a foundation for future studies into unraveling the mechanisms of olfactory sensory input on complex behavioural responses.