Laboratory of Neural Circuit Assembly, Brain Research Institute (HiFo), University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Neuroscience Center Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Science. 2024 May 10;384(6696):652-660. doi: 10.1126/science.adn5611. Epub 2024 May 9.
Nasal chemosensation is considered the evolutionarily oldest mammalian sense and, together with somatosensation, is crucial for neonatal well-being before auditory and visual pathways start engaging the brain. Using anatomical and functional approaches in mice, we reveal that odor-driven activity propagates to a large part of the cortex during the first postnatal week and enhances whisker-evoked activation of primary whisker somatosensory cortex (wS1). This effect disappears in adult animals, in line with the loss of excitatory connectivity from olfactory cortex to wS1. By performing neonatal odor deprivation, followed by electrophysiological and behavioral work in adult animals, we identify a key transient regulation of nasal chemosensory information necessary for the development of wS1 sensory-driven dynamics and somatosensation. Our work uncovers a cross-modal critical window for nasal chemosensation-dependent somatosensory functional maturation.
鼻腔化学感觉被认为是进化上最古老的哺乳动物感觉，与体感一起，在听觉和视觉通路开始与大脑连接之前，对新生儿的健康至关重要。我们在小鼠中使用解剖学和功能方法发现，在出生后的第一周内，气味驱动的活动会传播到大脑的很大一部分区域，并增强初级胡须体感皮层（wS1）对胡须刺激的激活。这种效应在成年动物中消失，与嗅皮层到 wS1 的兴奋性连接丧失一致。通过在成年动物中进行新生期气味剥夺，然后进行电生理和行为学研究，我们确定了一种关键的瞬态调节，这种调节对于 wS1 感觉驱动动力学和体感的发育是必要的。我们的工作揭示了一个跨模态的关键窗口，用于依赖于鼻腔化学感觉的体感功能成熟。
