Learning improves decoding of odor identity with phase-referenced oscillations in the olfactory bulb.
Local field potential oscillations reflect temporally coordinated neuronal ensembles-coupling distant brain regions, gating processing windows, and providing a reference for spike timing-based codes. In phase amplitude coupling (PAC), the amplitude of the envelope of a faster oscillation is larger within a phase window of a slower carrier wave. Here, we characterized PAC, and the related theta phase-referenced high gamma and beta power (PRP), in the olfactory bulb of mice learning to discriminate odorants. PAC changes throughout learning, and odorant-elicited changes in PRP increase for rewarded and decrease for unrewarded odorants. Contextual odorant identity (is the odorant rewarded?) can be decoded from peak PRP in animals proficient in odorant discrimination, but not in naïve mice. As the animal learns to discriminate the odorants the dimensionality of PRP decreases. Therefore, modulation of phase-referenced chunking of information in the course of learning plays a role in early sensory processing in olfaction.
['Losacco|Justin|J|', 'Ramirez-Gordillo|Daniel|D|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8189-6069', 'Gilmer|Jesse|J|https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5778-1061', 'Restrepo|Diego|D|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4972-446X']
D000200:Action Potentials D000818:Animals D001522:Behavior, Animal D003657:Decision Making D016002:Discriminant Analysis D004193:Discrimination Learning D007858:Learning D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL D009812:Odorants D009830:Olfactory Bulb D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
local field potential phase amplitude coupling dimensionality olfaction associative learning behavior mouse neuroscience