Processing of Basolateral Amygdalar Inputs by Piriform Cortex Neurons

OLIVIA PEDRONCINI; ANTONIA MARIN-BURGIN; NOEL FEDERMAN

Buenos Aires

Simposio; Frontiers in Bioscience 3; 2018

IBioBA-CONICET- Institute Partner of Max Planck Society

Piriform cortex is the main region of the olfactory cortex where olfactory information is encoded. It receives sensory afferences from the olfactory bulb but also from other higher order brain regions such as the amygdala. Here we study how the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is functionally connected to the posterior piriform cortex (pPC). We infected the BLA with adeno-associated virus expressing channelrhodopsin (ChR2-AAV) under CamKIIa or Parvalbumin promoters to activate either excitatory or inhibitory neurons respectively. We recorded postsynaptic currents and spiking in different principal neurons of the pPC in response to photostimulation. We found that both excitatory and inhibitory long range projections coming from the BLA synapse preferentially onto pyramidal neurons of the deep layers of pPC and do not contact semilunar neurons. Moreover, we discover that inputs from BLA can modulate the spiking activity of pPC neurons evoked by electric stimulation of the afferent pathway. Deciphering the interaction between sensory ?bottom-up? and ?top-down? projections from higher brain areas will shed light on the understanding of how the brain could adaptively shape sensory cortical activity according to behavioral needs.