Immature olfactory sensory neurons provide behaviourally relevant sensory input to the olfactory bulb

Abstract

Postnatal neurogenesis provides an opportunity to understand how newborn neurons integrate into circuits to restore function. Newborn olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) wire into highly organized olfactory bulb (OB) circuits throughout life, enabling lifelong plasticity and regeneration. Immature OSNs form functional synapses capable of evoking firing in OB projection neurons but what contribution, if any, they make to odor processing is unknown. Here, we show that immature OSNs provide odor input to the OB, where they form monosynaptic connections with excitatory neurons. Importantly, immature OSNs respond as selectively to odorants as mature OSNs and provide information about high odorant concentrations at which mature OSN responses are already maximal, suggesting that immature and mature OSNs provide distinct odor input streams. Furthermore, mice can successfully perform odor detection and discrimination tasks using sensory input from immature OSNs alone. Together, our findings suggest that immature OSNs play a previously unappreciated role in olfactory-guided behavior.