RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Glutamatergic Neurons in the Piriform Cortex Influence the Activity of D1- and D2-Type Receptor-Expressing Olfactory Tubercle Neurons
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 9546
OP 9559
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1444-19.2019
VO 39
IS 48
A1 Kate A. White
A1 Yun-Feng Zhang
A1 Zhijian Zhang
A1 Janardhan P. Bhattarai
A1 Andrew H. Moberly
A1 Estelle E. in 't Zandt
A1 José I. Pena-Bravo
A1 Huijie Mi
A1 Xianglian Jia
A1 Marc V. Fuccillo
A1 Fuqiang Xu
A1 Minghong Ma
A1 Daniel W. Wesson
YR 2019
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/39/48/9546.abstract
AB Sensory cortices process stimuli in manners essential for perception. Very little is known regarding interactions between olfactory cortices. The piriform “primary” olfactory cortex, especially its anterior division (aPCX), extends dense association fibers into the ventral striatum's olfactory tubercle (OT), yet whether this corticostriatal pathway is capable of shaping OT activity, including odor-evoked activity, is unknown. Further unresolved is the synaptic circuitry and the spatial localization of OT-innervating PCX neurons. Here we build upon standing literature to provide some answers to these questions through studies in mice of both sexes. First, we recorded the activity of OT neurons in awake mice while optically stimulating principal neurons in the aPCX and/or their association fibers in the OT while the mice were delivered odors. This uncovered evidence that PCX input indeed influences OT unit activity. We then used patch-clamp recordings and viral tracing to determine the connectivity of aPCX neurons upon OT neurons expressing dopamine receptor types D1 or D2, two prominent cell populations in the OT. These investigations uncovered that both populations of neurons receive monosynaptic inputs from aPCX glutamatergic neurons. Interestingly, this input originates largely from the ventrocaudal aPCX. These results shed light on some of the basic physiological properties of this pathway and the cell-types involved and provide a foundation for future studies to identify, among other things, whether this pathway has implications for perception.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Sensory cortices interact to process stimuli in manners considered essential for perception. Very little is known regarding interactions between olfactory cortices. The present study sheds light on some of the basic physiological properties of a particular intercortical pathway in the olfactory system and provides a foundation for future studies to identify, among other things, whether this pathway has implications for perception.