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Lateral excitation within the olfactory bulb

Jason M Christie1, Gary L Westbrook

  • 1Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon 97239, USA. christij@ohsu.edu

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|February 24, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Lateral excitation in the olfactory bulb enhances coordinated activity. Electrical coupling and glutamate spillover amplify sensory input sensitivity within glomeruli.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Olfactory system research

Background:

  • Lateral inhibition is common in cortical networks for contrast enhancement.
  • In the olfactory bulb, inhibition occurs via mitral cell and interneuron synapses.
  • Lateral excitatory interactions between mitral cells are less recognized but enhance coordinated activity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate lateral excitation between mitral cells in the olfactory bulb.
  • To understand the mechanisms underlying lateral excitation in olfactory glomeruli.

Main Methods:

  • Paired recordings between mitral cells projecting to the same glomerulus.
  • Experiments using connexin36 knockout mice lacking mitral-mitral cell gap junctions.
  • Investigating the role of glutamate spillover and uptake blockade.

Main Results:

  • Trains of action potentials in one mitral cell induced autoexcitation and depolarization in a second cell.
  • Lateral excitation was absent in mice lacking mitral-mitral cell gap junctions.
  • Glutamate spillover contributed to lateral excitation, especially during high activity or blocked uptake.

Conclusions:

  • Electrical coupling via gap junctions and glutamate spillover form a lateral excitatory network in olfactory glomeruli.
  • This network significantly amplifies the sensitivity of glomeruli to sensory input.
  • Lateral excitation plays a crucial role in olfactory processing and sensory information amplification.

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