Olfactory system articles within Nature Communications

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• Article | 20 November 2014

  Neuroligin-associated microRNA-932 targets actin and regulates memory in the honeybee

  MicroRNAs are increasingly recognized as important regulators of experience-dependent plasticity in the brain. Cristino et al.show that miR-932 targets actin mRNA in trained honeybees, and that loss of miR-932 impairs long-term memory formation.

  • Alexandre S. Cristino
  • , Angel R. Barchuk
  •  & Charles Claudianos

• Article
  28 May 2014 | Open Access

  Pathological α-synuclein impairs adult-born granule cell development and functional integration in the olfactory bulb

  Aggregation-prone forms of α-synuclein lead to degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons, as seen in Parkinson’s disease, but less is known about the effects that the noxious protein has in other brain regions. Here, the authors investigate the effect of a pathological form of α-synuclein on the functional integration of new neurons into the olfactory bulb of adult mice.

  • Johanna Neuner
  • , Saak V. Ovsepian
  •  & Jochen Herms

• Article | 07 May 2014

  A population of glomerular glutamatergic neurons controls sensory information transfer in the mouse olfactory bulb

  The olfactory bulb (OB) is involved in odour processing, but exactly how is unclear. Tatti et al.identify a population of VGluT3-expressing neurons within the OB that suppresses spontaneous and odour-evoked firing of OB output neurons via direct connections with OB output neurons and juxtaglomerular cells.

  • Roberta Tatti
  • , Khaleel Bhaukaurally
  •  & Alan Carleton

• Article | 09 April 2014

  Olfactory projectome in the zebrafish forebrain revealed by genetic single-neuron labelling

  Genetic approaches can be used to visualize neurons at single-cell resolution. Miyasaka et al.utilize genetic single neuron tracing to investigate zebrafish olfactory circuitry, characterizing neuronal projection patterns that are part of the secondary olfactory pathway.

  • Nobuhiko Miyasaka
  • , Ignacio Arganda-Carreras
  •  & Yoshihiro Yoshihara

• Article
  01 April 2014 | Open Access

  Whisker barrel cortex delta oscillations and gamma power in the awake mouse are linked to respiration

  Oscillatory neuronal activity in the mammalian neocortex is implicated in cognitive processes but its generation is poorly understood. In this study, the authors show that delta band oscillatory activity in mice phase-locks with respiratory activity and that this is mediated by activity in the olfactory bulb.

  • J. Ito
  • , S. Roy
  •  & D.H. Heck

• Article
  03 July 2013 | Open Access

  Perceptual judgements and chronic imaging of altered odour maps indicate comprehensive stimulus template matching in olfaction

  Disruption of glomerular activity maps in the olfactory bulb is believed to have little effect on odour-quality perception. Bracey et al. test this by disrupting olfactory bulb inputs and find that odour recognition relies on matching input patterns to templates from previously encountered odours.

  • Edward F. Bracey
  • , Bruno Pichler
  •  & Troy W. Margrie

• Article
  19 March 2013 | Open Access

  Mouse urinary peptides provide a molecular basis for genotype discrimination by nasal sensory neurons

  Major histocompatibility complex peptide ligands in mouse urine have been hypothesized to serve as signals for communication. In support of this hypothesis, Sturm and colleagues find that specific urinary peptides from genetically different mouse strains can be discriminated by nasal sensory neurons.

  • Theo Sturm
  • , Trese Leinders-Zufall
  •  & Hans-Georg Rammensee

• Article
  05 February 2013 | Open Access

  Stereo and serial sniffing guide navigation to an odour source in a mammal

  Integrating stereo information from two eyes or two ears is fundamental to localizing visual and auditory stimuli. Kenneth Catania investigates the olfactory sensitivity of eastern American moles, and finds that they use bilateral chemosensory cues in combination with serial sampling to localize odorants.

  • Kenneth C. Catania

• Article | 21 August 2012

  Aβ alters the connectivity of olfactory neurons in the absence of amyloid plaques in vivo

  The amyloid beta peptide can aggregate into insoluble plaques, which may indicate the onset of Alzheimer's disease. In a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, Cao and colleagues report a phenotype of altered connectivity in the olfactory neuronal circuit that precedes amyloid plaque deposition.

  • Luxiang Cao
  • , Benjamin R. Schrank
  •  & Mark W. Albers

• Article | 24 July 2012

  Gating of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels is voltage dependent

  Cyclic nucleotide-gated channels are apparently voltage insensitive despite having the S4-type voltage sensor. Marchesiet al.show that the gating of wild-type CNGA1 and native CNG channels is voltage-independent in the presence of Li+, Na+ and K+, but that it is voltage-dependent in the presence of Rb+, Cs+ and organic cations.

  • Arin Marchesi
  • , Monica Mazzolini
  •  & Vincent Torre

• Article | 13 March 2012

  Odour concentration-dependent olfactory preference change in C. elegans

  Some animals find the same odorant attractive at low concentrations and repulsive at high concentrations, but how this discrimination occurs is unclear. UsingCaenorhabditis elegans as a model system, Yoshida et al. show that different sets of sensory neurons respond to low and high concentrations of odours.

  • Kazushi Yoshida
  • , Takaaki Hirotsu
  •  & Takeshi Ishihara

• Article | 28 February 2012

  Rats track odour trails accurately using a multi-layered strategy with near-optimal sampling

  Animals track odour trails to find food, a mate or to steer clear of danger. Bhalla and colleagues combine behavioural and physiological measurements to show that rats can track surface-borne odours with near-optimal sampling and are able to predict the path direction on encountering a bifurcation.

  • Adil Ghani Khan
  • , Manaswini Sarangi
  •  & Upinder Singh Bhalla