Genetic analysis of smell recognition

The EU-funded 'Genetic analysis of olfactory processing and function' (ODORPROCESSING) project is investigating the functional properties of neural circuits underlying olfactory sensory processing.

To address this fundamental problem, researchers altered neural activation by odours using experimental mice in which 95% of all sensory neurons express the same receptor. Preliminary analyses of these transgenic mice suggest that the recognition of patterns of neural activity is critical for odour detection.

Researchers tested this model using two-photon in vivo imaging approaches to define patterns of glomerular activity and its transformation into cortical odour representations. They used the transgenic mice to characterise odour-initiated neural activity in defined neural cell types. Preliminary results suggest that inhibition at multiple steps along the olfactory pathway plays a key function in the processing of odour-initiated neural activity.

At the final stage, the project might use light-sensitive proteins (optogenetics) and chemical genetic approaches. Application of these modern tools in live animals allows dissecting of the functional organisation of neural circuits and their role in olfactory-driven behaviours.