Integration of the olfactory code across dendritic claws of single mushroom body neurons

Nat Neurosci. 2013 Dec;16(12):1821-9. doi: 10.1038/nn.3547. Epub 2013 Oct 20.

Abstract

In the olfactory system, sensory inputs are arranged in different glomerular channels, which respond in combinatorial ensembles to the various chemical features of an odor. We investigated where and how this combinatorial code is read out deeper in the brain. We exploited the unique morphology of neurons in the Drosophila mushroom body, which receive input on large dendritic claws. Imaging odor responses of these dendritic claws revealed that input channels with distinct odor tuning converge on individual mushroom body neurons. We determined how these inputs interact to drive the cell to spike threshold using intracellular recordings to examine mushroom body responses to optogenetically controlled input. Our results provide an elegant explanation for the characteristic selectivity of mushroom body neurons: these cells receive different types of input and require those inputs to be coactive to spike. These results establish the mushroom body as an important site of integration in the fly olfactory system.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Calcium / metabolism
  • Dendrites / physiology*
  • Drosophila
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Electric Stimulation
  • Female
  • Luminescent Proteins / genetics
  • Luminescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Membrane Potentials / drug effects
  • Membrane Potentials / genetics
  • Membrane Potentials / physiology
  • Models, Neurological
  • Mushroom Bodies / cytology*
  • Neurons / cytology*
  • Odorants*
  • Olfactory Pathways / physiology*
  • Patch-Clamp Techniques
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Rhodopsin / genetics
  • Rhodopsin / metabolism
  • Synapses / physiology

Substances

  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Luminescent Proteins
  • Rhodopsin
  • Calcium