Organization and engagement of a prefrontal-olfactory network during olfactory selective attention

Abstract

Background Sensory perception is profoundly shaped by attention. Attending to an odor strongly regulates if and how it is perceived – yet the brain systems involved in this process are unknown. Here we report integration of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a collection of brain regions integral to attention, with the olfactory system in the context of selective attention to odors. Methods First, we used tracing methods to establish the tubular striatum (TuS, also known as the olfactory tubercle) as the primary olfactory region to receive direct mPFC input in rats. Next, we recorded (i) local field potentials from the olfactory bulb (OB), mPFC, and TuS, or (ii) sniffing, while rats completed an olfactory selective attention task. Results Gamma power and coupling of gamma oscillations with theta phase were consistently high as rats flexibly switched their attention to odors. Beta and theta synchrony between mPFC and olfactory regions were elevated as rats switched their attention to odors. Finally, we found that sniffing was consistent despite shifting attentional demands, suggesting that the mPFC-OB theta coherence is independent of changes in active sampling. Conclusions Together, these findings begin to define an olfactory attention network wherein mPFC activity, as well as that within olfactory regions, are coordinated based upon attentional states.

Identification of the Neural Correlates Underlying Conflict Resolution Performance Using a Rodent Analogue of the Stroop Tests

“…In Huntington’s disease, as the disease progresses, the greatest changes appear to be in the less cognitively demanding tests, specifically in the time taken to recite colour names and words read, i.e., the congruent test ( Snowden et al, 2001 , Ho, 2003 ). An explanation for this could be that information processing speed and recitation of automatic over-learned sequences deteriorates as the disease progresses, which is thought to involve a striatal contribution ( Cansler, 2023 ) Therefore, the data from this study shows that the striatum may be globally important for performance in the rRCT task, which may explain why altered Zif268 expression in the DMS was observed in both the rRCT Congruent and Incongruent groups, albeit that lower expression was actually associated with greater accuracy. However, further validation of the roles of the IL, DMS and RSCb in response confliction are required via lesion or inactivation studies.…”

“…Finally, it is worth noting the medial prefrontal cortex is highly integrated with the olfactory system ( Cansler, 2023 ). Thus, it is possible that IEG activation in the medial prefrontal cortex could be induced through attending to olfactory guidance cues.…”

Flexible decision-making is related to strategy learning, vicarious trial and error, and medial prefrontal rhythms during spatial set-shifting

“…As such, we recorded mPFC field potential rhythms from a subset of rats used in the behavioral dataset ( n = 3) to see if mPFC rhythms tracked any aspects of behavioral context formation that we were able to define (see Figure 7 for approximate recording locations and field potential examples). We examined three mPFC rhythms, each suggested to have a role in linking cognition to behavior in rodents; 1) the theta rhythm (6 – 12 Hz), which tends to synchronize with hippocampal theta when spatial working memory is taxed (Benchenane et al ., 2010; de Mooij-van Malsen et al ., 2023; Hallock et al ., 2016; Hyman et al ., 2010; Jones & Wilson, 2005; Negrón-Oyarzo et al ., 2018; Stout et al ., 2023; Tavares & Tort, 2022); 2) the beta rhythm (15 – 30 Hz), which tends to be present during decision-making (de Mooij-van Malsen et al ., 2023; Jayachandran et al ., 2023; Symanski et al ., 2022); and 3) the gamma rhythm (40 – 100 Hz), which has been associated with working memory, learning, and sensory information processing (Cansler et al ., 2022; de Mooij-van Malsen et al ., 2023; Negrón-Oyarzo et al ., 2018).…”

The Grossberg Code: Universal Neural Network Signatures of Perceptual Experience

“…The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in this process. Recent evidence suggests that the PFC has dedicated neural networks that receive input from olfactory regions, and that the activity of these networks is coordinated on the basis of selective attention producing different brain alert states [49].…”

“…Bottom-up automatic activation may generate supraliminal brain signals, or representational contents with weak adaptive weights, as a candidate mechanism to explain how the brain manages to subliminally process perceptual input [60] that is either not directly relevant at a given moment in time, or cannot be made available to conscious processing because of a local brain lesion [59]. Grossberg [9,12,17,19] suggested that bottom-up activation may automatically activate target cell populations at higher levels of processing, as in bottom-up activation of the PCF by sensory cortices [47,49], for example.…”