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Promo code aquadine flakes3/17/2023 In the olfactory system, support for modulation exists primarily at the level of the olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulb, but whether there are also differences in response properties of neurons within higher processing centers is relatively unexplored in any taxa. Evidence for hormonal or reproductive-state modulation of sensory processing is documented for audition 15, 16, vision 17, 18, 19, and olfaction 20, 21, 22, 23. As a result, an individual may respond very differently to the same social signals received at distinctly different times. The reception of sensory information in specific behavioral contexts can also be modulated by an animal’s internal physiological, hormonal, and motivational states. Despite the widespread importance of this olfactory information to survival and reproduction, our knowledge of how neurons in decision centers process biologically-relevant odors is extremely limited. For example, information on male dominance status in cichlids and female reproductive condition in goldfish are conveyed via released chemical molecules and odor mixtures that are received by the olfactory system 12, 13, 14. Chemosensory communication during aggression and reproduction is an important component of fish sociality. While recent work has revealed insights on odor coding at levels above the olfactory bulb in mammals 8, 9, less is known about how this ascending olfactory information is processed in fishes, the largest and most diverse group of vertebrates.Ĭhemoreception (olfaction, taste, and common chemical sense) is a phylogenetically old group of senses and perhaps most salient in fishes, which live in an aquatic mixture of soluble odorants used to detect food, evade predators, locate habitats, and identify conspecifics for social interactions including territoriality, mating, and parental care 10, 11. Information from the olfactory bulb is then sent to target forebrain processing centers, where it is integrated with other information to mediate behaviors 5, 6, 7. In vertebrates, odorants are detected by olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), the axons of which form the olfactory nerve and project to mitral cells within specific glomerular fields of the olfactory bulb 1, 2, 3, 4. For the first time we reveal social and reproductive-state plasticity in olfactory processing neurons in the vertebrate forebrain that are associated with status-specific lifestyles.Īn animal’s ability to detect and correctly identify social signals is crucial for making appropriate context-dependent behavioral decisions. Odor-evoked LFP spectral densities, indicative of synaptic inputs, were also 2–3-fold greater in dominant males, demonstrating status-dependent differences in processing possibly linking olfactory and other neural inputs to goal-directed behaviors. A greater percentage of neurons in dominant males also responded to sex- and food-related odors, while a greater percentage of neurons in subordinate males responded to complex odors collected from behaving dominant males, possibly as a mechanism to mediate social suppression and allow subordinates to identify opportunities to rise in rank. Dominant males had a high percentage of neurons that responded to several odor types, suggesting broad tuning or differential sensitivity when males are reproductively active and defending a territory. We used in vivo neuron and local field potential (LFP) recordings from the ventral telencephalon of dominant and subordinate male cichlids to test the hypothesis that response properties of olfactory neurons differ with social status. However, whether olfactory processing in higher-order brain centers is influenced by an animal’s physiological condition is unknown. The ability to identify odors in the environment is crucial for survival and reproduction.
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