title: Transformation of olfactory representations in the Drosophila antennal lobe.
abstract: Molecular genetics has revealed a precise stereotypy in the projection of primary olfactory sensory neurons onto secondary neurons. A major challenge is to understand how this mapping translates into odor responses in these second-order neurons. We investigated this question in Drosophila using whole-cell recordings in vivo. We observe that monomolecular odors generally elicit responses in large ensembles of antennal lobe neurons. Comparison of odor-evoked activity from afferents and postsynaptic neurons in the same glomerulus revealed that second-order neurons display broader tuning and more complex responses than their primary afferents. This indicates a major transformation of odor representations, implicating lateral interactions within the antennal lobe.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology, 139-74, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Glenn C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Laurent
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials; D018756:GABA Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D058787:GABA-A Receptor Antagonists; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D009833:Olfactory Pathways; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D010852:Picrotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000378:metabolism; D012679:Sense Organs / Q000502:physiology; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018756:GABA Antagonists; D058787:GABA-A Receptor Antagonists; D010852:Picrotoxin; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A