A cortical pathway modulates sensory input into the olfactory striatum

Abstract

Sensory cortices process stimuli in manners essential for perception. The piriform primary olfactory cortex (PCX) extends dense association fibers into the ventral striatums 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 neurons 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.