Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol 62, Issue 3 609-625, Copyright © 1989 by APS

ARTICLES

Patterns of intracellular potentials in salamander mitral/tufted cells in response to odor stimulation

K. A. Hamilton and J. S. Kauer
Department of Neurosurgery, New England Medical Center, Tufts Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02111.

1. Changes in membrane potential and temporal patterns of spikes were analyzed in 30 output cells in the salamander olfactory bulb in response to stimulation with 1-s pulses of the odorants isoamyl acetate, cineole, and camphor. The odor responses were more complex than responses to electrical stimulation of the olfactory nerve or olfactory tracts, with which they were compared. Most began with hyperpolarization and contained prolonged hyperpolarizing and depolarizing potentials that appeared to be compound postsynaptic potentials. These potentials were related to periods of spike inhibition and excitation. The temporal patterns of the responses resembled S-type (for suppression) and E-type (for excitation) patterns described previously in extracellular-unit studies. 2. In single cells, graded but nonmonotonic changes in the responses were observed with increases in the odor concentration from 10(-3) to 10(-1) vapor-phase saturation. Abrupt changes from one category of temporal response pattern to another were generally not observed in response to different concentrations of a single odorant but were frequently observed when the stimulus was changed from one odorant to another. 3. In S-type patterns, the first event was always membrane hyperpolarization and spike inhibition, regardless of the odor concentration. At all concentrations, simple S-type responses were observed in which a single period of hyperpolarization and inhibition lasted several seconds. At moderate to high concentrations, complex S-type responses were observed in which a period of excitation followed an initial period of hyperpolarization and inhibition. In these responses, spikes were often elicited near the termination of the odor pulse, occasionally as early as 300-400 ms after pulse onset. A prolonged period of inhibition followed the period of excitation. 4. In E-type patterns, the first event depended on the odor concentration. At all concentrations, complex responses were observed in which a period of excitation occurred with short latency, followed by a period of inhibition. At low to moderate concentrations, a brief initial period of hyperpolarization preceded the excitation. This initial period of hyperpolarization was always shorter than those in complex S-type responses to equivalent concentrations. However, the range of spike latencies overlapped that of S-type responses to high concentrations. With increasing odor concentration, spike latencies in the E-type responses decreased relative to the onset and peak of the initial hyperpolarization. At high concentrations. spikes were frequently elicited preceding a single period of hyperpolarization and inhibition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. Balu, R. T. Pressler, and B. W. Strowbridge Multiple Modes of Synaptic Excitation of Olfactory Bulb Granule Cells J. Neurosci., May 23, 2007; 27(21): 5621 - 5632. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Balu and B. W. Strowbridge Opposing Inward and Outward Conductances Regulate Rebound Discharges in Olfactory Mitral Cells J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2007; 97(3): 1959 - 1968. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. A. Cleland, B. A. Johnson, M. Leon, and C. Linster Relational representation in the olfactory system PNAS, February 6, 2007; 104(6): 1953 - 1958. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Kapoor and N. N. Urban Glomerulus-specific, long-latency activity in the olfactory bulb granule cell network. J. Neurosci., November 8, 2006; 26(45): 11709 - 11719. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. B. Rubin and T. A. Cleland Dynamical Mechanisms of Odor Processing in Olfactory Bulb Mitral Cells J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2006; 96(2): 555 - 568. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. B. Dietz and V. N. Murthy Contrasting short-term plasticity at two sides of the mitral-granule reciprocal synapse in the mammalian olfactory bulb J. Physiol., December 1, 2005; 569(2): 475 - 488. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. I. Wilson and G. Laurent Role of GABAergic Inhibition in Shaping Odor-Evoked Spatiotemporal Patterns in the Drosophila Antennal Lobe J. Neurosci., October 5, 2005; 25(40): 9069 - 9079. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. G. Davison, J. D. Boyd, and K. R. Delaney Dopamine Inhibits Mitral/Tufted-> Granule Cell Synapses in the Frog Olfactory Bulb J. Neurosci., September 15, 2004; 24(37): 8057 - 8067. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Balu, P. Larimer, and B. W. Strowbridge Phasic Stimuli Evoke Precisely Timed Spikes in Intermittently Discharging Mitral Cells J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2004; 92(2): 743 - 753. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Djurisic, S. Antic, W. R. Chen, and D. Zecevic Voltage Imaging from Dendrites of Mitral Cells: EPSP Attenuation and Spike Trigger Zones J. Neurosci., July 28, 2004; 24(30): 6703 - 6714. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Suzuki, M. Takahata, T. Shoji, and Y. Suzuki Characterization of Electro-olfactogram Oscillations and Their Computational Reconstruction Chem Senses, June 1, 2004; 29(5): 411 - 424. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. L. Fletcher and D. A. Wilson Olfactory Bulb Mitral-Tufted Cell Plasticity: Odorant-Specific Tuning Reflects Previous Odorant Exposure J. Neurosci., July 30, 2003; 23(17): 6946 - 6955. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Cang and J. S. Isaacson In Vivo Whole-Cell Recording of Odor-Evoked Synaptic Transmission in the Rat Olfactory Bulb J. Neurosci., May 15, 2003; 23(10): 4108 - 4116. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. S. Deshmukh and U. S. Bhalla Representation of Odor Habituation and Timing in the Hippocampus J. Neurosci., March 1, 2003; 23(5): 1903 - 1915. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. K. Alkasab, J. White, and J. S. Kauer A Computational System for Simulating and Analyzing Arrays of Biological and Artificial Chemical Sensors Chem Senses, March 1, 2002; 27(3): 261 - 275. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. W. Friedrich and G. Laurent Dynamic Optimization of Odor Representations by Slow Temporal Patterning of Mitral Cell Activity Science, February 2, 2001; 291(5505): 889 - 894. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Friedman and B. W. Strowbridge Functional Role of NMDA Autoreceptors in Olfactory Mitral Cells J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2000; 84(1): 39 - 50. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. M. Dorries and J. S. Kauer Relationships Between Odor-Elicited Oscillations in the Salamander Olfactory Epithelium and Olfactory Bulb J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2000; 83(2): 754 - 765. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Wehr and G. Laurent Relationship between Afferent and Central Temporal Patterns in the Locust Olfactory System J. Neurosci., January 1, 1999; 19(1): 381 - 390. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. E. Schoppa, J. M. Kinzie, Y. Sahara, T. P. Segerson, and G. L. Westbrook Dendrodendritic Inhibition in the Olfactory Bulb Is Driven by NMDA Receptors J. Neurosci., September 1, 1998; 18(17): 6790 - 6802. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. A. Christensen, B. R. Waldrop, and J. G. Hildebrand Multitasking in the Olfactory System: Context-Dependent Responses to Odors Reveal Dual GABA-Regulated Coding Mechanisms in Single Olfactory Projection Neurons J. Neurosci., August 1, 1998; 18(15): 5999 - 6008. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. A. Christensen and J. G. Hildebrand Coincident Stimulation With Pheromone Components Improves Temporal Pattern Resolution in Central Olfactory Neurons J Neurophysiol, February 1, 1997; 77(2): 775 - 781. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. W. Tank, A. Gelperin, and D. Kleinfeld Odors, Oscillations, and Waves: Does It All Compute? Science, September 23, 1994; 265(5180): 1819 - 1820. [PDF]