Acetylcholine (ACh) is associated with the modulation of brain activity linked to arousal, attention, and emotional valence. We performed dual-color mesoscopic imaging of ACh and calcium across the neocortex of awake mice to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of cholinergic signaling and their relationship to cortical output. We find distinct movement-defined behavioral states are represented in spatially heterogeneous cholinergic networks that are differentially coupled to fluctuations in local circuit activity.

SummarySensory cortices process stimuli in manners essential for perception. The piriform ‘primary’ olfactory cortex (PCX) extends dense association fibers into the ventral striatum’s olfactory tubercle (OT), yet the function of this cortico-striatal pathway is unknown. We optically stimulated channelrhodopsin-transduced PCX glutamatergic neurons or their association fibers while recording OT neural activity in mice performing an olfactory task. Activation of PCX neurons or their association fibers within the OT controlled the firing of some OT neurons and bidirectionally modulated odor coding dependent upon the neuron’s intrinsic odor responsivity. Further, patch clamp recordings and retroviral tracing from D1 and D2 dopamine receptor-expressing OT medium spiny neurons revealed this input can be monosynaptic and that both cell types receive most of their input from a specific spatial zone localized within the ventro-caudal PCX. These results demonstrate that the PCX functionally accesses the direct and indirect pathways of the basal ganglia within the OT.