Somatostatin cells regulate sensory response fidelity via subtractive inhibition in olfactory cortex
James F Sturgill1, Jeffry S Isaacson1
1Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Abstract:
Diverse types of local GABAergic interneurons shape the cortical representation of sensory information. Here we show how somatostatin-expressing interneurons (SOM cells) contribute to odor coding in mouse olfactory cortex. We find that odor-tuned SOM cells regulate principal cells through a purely subtractive operation that is independent of odor identity or intensity. This operation enhances the salience of odor-evoked activity without changing cortical odor tuning. SOM cells inhibit both principal cells and fast-spiking interneurons, indicating that subtractive inhibition reflects the interplay of multiple classes of interneurons.
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