Projection-specific Routing of Odor Information in the Olfactory Cortex

Abstract

Sensory processing in the mammalian cortex relies on extensive feedforward and feedback connections, yet how information is routed along these pathways remains poorly understood. Here, we examined the functional properties of feedback and feedforward neurons in the mouse olfactory (piriform) cortex. We selectively labeled neurons projecting to the olfactory bulb (OB, feedback) or medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC, feedforward) and recorded their activity during passive odor exposure and learning of an odor discrimination task. We found that odor identity and reward associations were encoded by OB-projecting ensembles early during odor exposure, whereas mPFC-projecting neurons encoded this information later, aligned with behavioral responses. Moreover, mPFC-projecting neurons maintained a stable representation of valence across days, while OB-projecting neurons exhibited pronounced plasticity. Together, these findings reveal that odor information is selectively routed through feedforward and feedback pathways and suggest that the functional properties of piriform neurons mirror the computational demands of their downstream targets.