Spatial maps in piriform cortex during olfactory navigation.

ABSTRACT: Odors are a fundamental part of the sensory environment used by animals to inform behaviors such as foraging and navigation^1,2. Primary olfactory (piriform) cortex is thought to be dedicated to encoding odor identity^3-8. Here, using neural ensemble recordings in freely moving rats performing a novel odor-cued spatial choice task, we show that posterior piriform cortex neurons also carry a robust spatial map of the environment. Piriform spatial maps were stable across behavioral contexts independent of olfactory drive or reward availability, and the accuracy of spatial information carried by individual neurons depended on the strength of their functional coupling to the hippocampal theta rhythm. Ensembles of piriform neurons concurrently represented odor identity as we

SUBMITTER: Poo C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11463389 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature