Gain control in olfactory receptor neurons and the detection of temporal fluctuations in odor concentration
The ability of the cockroach to locate an odor source in still air suggests that the temporal dynamic of odor concentration in the slowly expanding stationary plume alone is used to infer odor source distance and location. This contradicts with the well-established view that insects use the wind dir...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Physiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1158855/full |
| _version_ | 1797782354393038848 |
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| author | Harald Tichy Maria Hellwig |
| author_facet | Harald Tichy Maria Hellwig |
| author_sort | Harald Tichy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The ability of the cockroach to locate an odor source in still air suggests that the temporal dynamic of odor concentration in the slowly expanding stationary plume alone is used to infer odor source distance and location. This contradicts with the well-established view that insects use the wind direction as the principle directional cue. This contribution highlights the evidence for, and likely functional relevance of, the capacity of the cockroach’s olfactory receptor neurons to detect and process—from one moment to the next—not only a succession of odor concentrations but also the rates at which concentration changes. This presents a challenge for the olfactory system because it must detect and encode the temporal concentration dynamic in a manner that simultaneously allows invariant odor recognition. The challenge is met by a parallel representation of odor identity and concentration changes in a dual pathway that starts from olfactory receptor neurons located in two morphologically distinct types of olfactory sensilla. Parallel processing uses two types of gain control that simultaneously allocate different weight to the instantaneous odor concentration and its rate of change. Robust gain control provides a stable sensitivity for the instantaneous concentration by filtering the information on fluctuations in the rate of change. Variable gain control, in turn, enhances sensitivity for the concentration rate according to variations in the duration of the fluctuation period. This efficiently represents the fluctuation of concentration changes in the environmental context in which such changes occur. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T00:10:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-900de009d14f4902a51b2afa78122b00 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-042X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T00:10:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Physiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-900de009d14f4902a51b2afa78122b002023-07-12T12:57:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physiology1664-042X2023-07-011410.3389/fphys.2023.11588551158855Gain control in olfactory receptor neurons and the detection of temporal fluctuations in odor concentrationHarald TichyMaria HellwigThe ability of the cockroach to locate an odor source in still air suggests that the temporal dynamic of odor concentration in the slowly expanding stationary plume alone is used to infer odor source distance and location. This contradicts with the well-established view that insects use the wind direction as the principle directional cue. This contribution highlights the evidence for, and likely functional relevance of, the capacity of the cockroach’s olfactory receptor neurons to detect and process—from one moment to the next—not only a succession of odor concentrations but also the rates at which concentration changes. This presents a challenge for the olfactory system because it must detect and encode the temporal concentration dynamic in a manner that simultaneously allows invariant odor recognition. The challenge is met by a parallel representation of odor identity and concentration changes in a dual pathway that starts from olfactory receptor neurons located in two morphologically distinct types of olfactory sensilla. Parallel processing uses two types of gain control that simultaneously allocate different weight to the instantaneous odor concentration and its rate of change. Robust gain control provides a stable sensitivity for the instantaneous concentration by filtering the information on fluctuations in the rate of change. Variable gain control, in turn, enhances sensitivity for the concentration rate according to variations in the duration of the fluctuation period. This efficiently represents the fluctuation of concentration changes in the environmental context in which such changes occur.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1158855/fullinsectodor plume trackingzero windodor identityconcentration dynamics |
| spellingShingle | Harald Tichy Maria Hellwig Gain control in olfactory receptor neurons and the detection of temporal fluctuations in odor concentration Frontiers in Physiology insect odor plume tracking zero wind odor identity concentration dynamics |
| title | Gain control in olfactory receptor neurons and the detection of temporal fluctuations in odor concentration |
| title_full | Gain control in olfactory receptor neurons and the detection of temporal fluctuations in odor concentration |
| title_fullStr | Gain control in olfactory receptor neurons and the detection of temporal fluctuations in odor concentration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gain control in olfactory receptor neurons and the detection of temporal fluctuations in odor concentration |
| title_short | Gain control in olfactory receptor neurons and the detection of temporal fluctuations in odor concentration |
| title_sort | gain control in olfactory receptor neurons and the detection of temporal fluctuations in odor concentration |
| topic | insect odor plume tracking zero wind odor identity concentration dynamics |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1158855/full |
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