Single-unit activity in piriform cortex during slow-wave state is shaped by recent odor experience.

Memory and its underlying neural plasticity play important roles in sensory discrimination and cortical pattern recognition in olfaction. Given the reported function of slow-wave sleep states in neocortical and hippocampal memory consolidation, we hypothesized that activity during slow-wave states within the piriform cortex may be shaped by recent olfactory experience. Rats were anesthetized with urethane and allowed to spontaneously shift between slow-wave and fast-wave states as recorded in local field potentials within the anterior piriform cortex. Single-unit activity of piriform cortical layer II/III neurons was recorded simultaneously. The results suggest that piriform cortical activity during slow-wave states is shaped by recent (several minutes) odor experience. The temporal structure of single-unit activity during slow waves was modified if the animal had been stimulated with an odor within the receptive field of that cell. If no odor had been delivered, the activity of the cell during slow-wave activity was stable across the two periods. The results demonstrate that piriform cortical activity during slow-wave state is shaped by recent odor experience, which could contribute to odor memory consolidation.