title: Spontaneous activity in the piriform cortex extends the dynamic range of cortical odor coding.
abstract: Neurons in the neocortex exhibit spontaneous spiking activity in the absence of external stimuli, but the origin and functions of this activity remain uncertain. Here, we show that spontaneous spiking is also prominent in a sensory paleocortex, the primary olfactory (piriform) cortex of mice. In the absence of applied odors, piriform neurons exhibit spontaneous firing at mean rates that vary systematically among neuronal classes. This activity requires the participation of NMDA receptors and is entirely driven by bottom-up spontaneous input from the olfactory bulb. Odor stimulation produces two types of spatially dispersed, odor-distinctive patterns of responses in piriform cortex layer 2 principal cells: Approximately 15% of cells are excited by odor, and another approximately 15% have their spontaneous activity suppressed. Our results show that, by allowing odor-evoked suppression as well as excitation, the responsiveness of piriform neurons is at least twofold less sparse than currently believed. Hence, by enabling bidirectional changes in spiking around an elevated baseline, spontaneous activity in the piriform cortex extends the dynamic range of odor representation and enriches the coding space for the representation of complex olfactory stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Eccles Institute of Neuroscience, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Malinda L S
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Tantirigama
authors.affiliation: Eccles Institute of Neuroscience, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Helena H-Y
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Eccles Institute of Neuroscience, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia John.Bekkers@anu.edu.au.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bekkers
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis*; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D066195:Piriform Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques
chemical_list: D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
keywords: anesthetic; calcium imaging; in vivo; olfaction; two-photon