Bilateral Alignment of Receptive Fields in the Olfactory Cortex

Abstract

Each olfactory cortical hemisphere receives ipsilateral odor information directly from the olfactory bulb and contralateral information indirectly from the other cortical hemisphere. Since neural projections to the olfactory cortex are disordered and non-topographic, spatial information cannot be used to align projections from the two sides like in the visual cortex. Therefore, how bilateral information is integrated in individual cortical neurons is unknown. We have found, in mice, that the odor responses of individual neurons to selective stimulation of each of the two nostrils are significantly correlated, such that odor identity decoding optimized with information arriving from one nostril transfers very well to the other side. Nevertheless, these aligned responses are asymmetric enough to allow decoding of stimulus laterality. Computational analysis shows that such matched odor tuning is incompatible with purely random connections but is explained readily by Hebbian plasticity structuring bilateral connectivity. Our data reveal that despite the distributed and fragmented sensory representation in the olfactory cortex, odor information across the two hemispheres is highly coordinated.Significance statementLike other sense organs, animals typically have two nostrils, but how odor information from the two sides is combined to build bilateral olfactory representations remains largely unknown. Grimaud et al. find that the responses of neurons in the olfactory cortex in awake mice to odors presented separately to the ipsilateral or contralateral nostril are significantly correlated, beyond chance. Such aligned responses could arise from Hebbian plasticity in interhemispheric connections that relies on common odor experiences across the two nostrils. While responses are correlated, the remaining asymmetries in responses to the two nostrils allowed decoding of stimulus laterality. This study points to unexpected order in an olfactory circuit and prompts future work on how olfactory experience can shape interhemispheric information integration.