A Chloride Channel for Detecting and Perceiving Odor
Kai Clane Belonio, Eyerusalem S. Haile, Zach Fyke, Lindsay Vivona, Vaibhav Konanur et al.
(see article e2008242025)
The olfactory system detects weak scents even in environments that are rich with sensory information. Belonio et al. shed light on how olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) remain sensitive to odorants while also maintaining a relatively sparse population density. Their research provides new insight into the role of a chloride channel previously linked to olfaction (TMEM16B), showing that it supports OSN function and sparsity in both male and female mice. After observing a high density of OSNs in response to odor stimuli in the olfactory epithelium, the researchers found that there was an even larger amount of highly responsive OSNs when TMEM16B was ablated in mice. Depletion of TMEM16B also resulted in a stronger aversion to trimethylamine, which is an odorant that switches from being pleasant at low concentrations to unpleasant at higher concentrations. Mice without TMEM16B were also less efficient at olfactory-guided navigation. Altogether, according to the authors, these findings suggest that TMEM16B makes OSNs more efficient at detecting and perceiving odors.
Odorant-odorant correlations in mice with TMEM16B depleted from OSNs. White lines border individual odorants presented in three to seven trials. OSN clusters triggered by similar odorants in control mice were used to group OSNs in this group of TMEM16B knockout mice. See Belonio et al. for more information.
Exploring How Humans Multitask
Daniela Gresch, Larissa Behnke, Freek van Ede, Anna Christina Nobre, and Sage Boettcher
(see article e2347242025)
Multitasking is a relatively common occurrence in daily life. Performing tasks from memory in the presence of a new, distracting external stimuli requires juggling different kinds of information cognitively at the same time. Despite the ubiquity of multitasking, many researchers assess memory during tasks in which there are no additional perceptual, attentional, or response demands during memory retention. Gresch et al. explored how the human cognitive system juggles multiple demands during memory retention. They used a memory task with distinct visual and motor attributes to evaluate how internal focus is reestablished following visual interruptions that require a motor response. These task interruptions occurred at one of three time points during memory retention. The researchers discovered that visual and motor memories were concurrently reselected immediately following performance of the interrupting task, and not just prior to initiating a response to the memory task. Reselection of memorized visual information was linked to lateralized posterior alpha activity, while reselection of memorized motor activity was linked to lateralized central beta activity. This work suggests that after task interruption, people resume their internal focus by immediately reselecting visual and motor memory information.
Footnotes
This Week in The Journal was written by Paige McKeon
