RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The Olfactory Tubercle Encodes Odor Valence in Behaving Mice JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 4515 OP 4527 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4750-14.2015 VO 35 IS 11 A1 Marie A. Gadziola A1 Kate A. Tylicki A1 Diana L. Christian A1 Daniel W. Wesson YR 2015 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/35/11/4515.abstract AB Sensory information acquires meaning to adaptively guide behaviors. Despite odors mediating a number of vital behaviors, the components of the olfactory system responsible for assigning meaning to odors remain unclear. The olfactory tubercle (OT), a ventral striatum structure that receives monosynaptic input from the olfactory bulb, is uniquely positioned to transform odor information into behaviorally relevant neural codes. No information is available, however, on the coding of odors among OT neurons in behaving animals. In recordings from mice engaged in an odor discrimination task, we report that the firing rate of OT neurons robustly and flexibly encodes the valence of conditioned odors over identity, with rewarded odors evoking greater firing rates. This coding of rewarded odors occurs before behavioral decisions and represents subsequent behavioral responses. We predict that the OT is an essential region whereby odor valence is encoded in the mammalian brain to guide goal-directed behaviors.