Olfaction and Locomotion
This research program is aimed at identifying the connectivity between the olfactory sensory neurons responding to pheromones and the motor command centers in the CNS of lampreys. The project is carried out in collaboration with
Dr. Barbara Zielinski and her research team in the University of Windsor, Canada. Our goal is to identify the neural mechanisms by which an olfactory signal is transformed into a locomotor activation. Lampreys respond to different odorants as well as pheromones. A better understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the system will allow us to propose new strategies for altering the responsiveness of behaving animals to pheromones. We have described two parallel pathways that connect the olfactory epithelium to the MLR, one that originates in the main olfactory epithelium and goes through the pallium (orange), and another, more direct, that originates in the accessory olfactory organ (AOO, green). The latter is a good candidate for the pheromone-locomotion pathway because the olfactory receptor neurons in the AOO project to only one olfactory glomerulus, which in turn project directly to the posterior tuberculum. The dopamine- and glutamate-containing neurons of the posterior tuberculum then contact the MLR and the brainstem locomotor centers that drive the spinal locomotor networks.
We use an extensive array of neurobiological techniques, including anatomical tracing and electrophysiological techniques to comprehensively investigate neural pathways from olfactory sensory neurons to brain centers involved in the control of locomotor behavior. Our goal is also to examine plasticity in the pheromone responses at different levels within the pathway to determine whether there is habituation or potentiation. Single and double anterograde and retrograde labeling techniques are used in parallel with extracellular, intracellular, patch recordings as well as imaging techniques.
This research was supported by the Great Lakes Fishery Commision.
