Project Details
Projekt
FOR 643: Information Processing in the Olfactory System
Subject Area
Medicine
Term
from 2006 to 2012
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 14494825
In the Research Unit, neurophysiologists from the Heidelberg University and the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg collaborate on the topic of neuronal processing of olfactory information. Following transduction of the chemical infomation into a neuronal signal in olfactory receptor neurons, the primary signal is processed by the neuronal networks of the olfactory bulb.
The Research Unit works on three research topics:
(1) The molecular mechanisms of odour detection in receptor neurons. Of particular interest is the molecular basis of signal amplification and adaptation, which is important for the generation of the afferent sensory signal.
(2) Analysis of odour-induced activity in the olfactory bulb. Each stimulus elicits a distinct and dynamic activity pattern in the neuron of the bulb. The spatial and temporal patterns of this activity encode the olfactory information and are interpreted by higher levels of processing in the brain.
The activity patterns are generated by an ordered input of primary signals from the receptor neurons, and by a complex network of inhibitory interneurons in the bulb. These interneurons enhance the performance of the olfactory system and increase its ability to discriminate between individual odourants as well as to analyse odour mixtures.
(3) Olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulb are dynamic, continuously regenerating tissues. The adult brain generates a constant supply of new interneurons for the olfactory bulb. These neurons differentiate from stem cells originating in the subventricular zone, migrate toward the olfactory bulb and integrate into the local neuronal networks. This fascinating example of adult neurogenesis is also a research topic.
The goal of the Research Unit is to achieve a better understanding of how primary signals are generated in receptor neurons, and which precise role the neuronal connectivities in the olfactory bulb play for the sensory performance of the olfactory system.
The Research Unit works on three research topics:
(1) The molecular mechanisms of odour detection in receptor neurons. Of particular interest is the molecular basis of signal amplification and adaptation, which is important for the generation of the afferent sensory signal.
(2) Analysis of odour-induced activity in the olfactory bulb. Each stimulus elicits a distinct and dynamic activity pattern in the neuron of the bulb. The spatial and temporal patterns of this activity encode the olfactory information and are interpreted by higher levels of processing in the brain.
The activity patterns are generated by an ordered input of primary signals from the receptor neurons, and by a complex network of inhibitory interneurons in the bulb. These interneurons enhance the performance of the olfactory system and increase its ability to discriminate between individual odourants as well as to analyse odour mixtures.
(3) Olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulb are dynamic, continuously regenerating tissues. The adult brain generates a constant supply of new interneurons for the olfactory bulb. These neurons differentiate from stem cells originating in the subventricular zone, migrate toward the olfactory bulb and integrate into the local neuronal networks. This fascinating example of adult neurogenesis is also a research topic.
The goal of the Research Unit is to achieve a better understanding of how primary signals are generated in receptor neurons, and which precise role the neuronal connectivities in the olfactory bulb play for the sensory performance of the olfactory system.
DFG Programme
Research Units
Projects
- Characterization of newly generated olfactory bulb interneurons using a conditional genedeletion approach (Applicant Monyer, Hannah )
- Contribution of lateral inhibition to odor discrimination: from molecule to behavior (Applicant Kuner, Thomas )
- Dynamics of odor representations in vivo in the mammalian olfactory bulb - effects of odor adaptation on the spatio-temporal dynamics and on oder discrimination (Applicant Spors, Hartwig )
- Inormation Processing in the Olfactory System (Applicant Frings, Stephan )
- Interactions between the transduction components in olfactory sensory neurons (Applicant Frings, Stephan )
- Mathematical Modelling and Analysis of transduction processes and neuronal networks (Applicant Starke, Jens )
- Molecular mechanisms of calmodulin-mediated rapid adaptation in olfactory sensory neurons (Applicant Möhrlen, Frank )
- Physiological mechanisms underlying neural computations in the olfactory bulb (Applicant Friedrich, Rainer )
Spokesperson
Professor Dr. Stephan Frings
