How do spatial maps work in olfactory cortex during olfactory navigation?

Cindy Poo, Gautam Agarwal, Niccolò Bonacchi, Zachary Mainen. Spatial maps in olfactory cortex during olfactory navigation
bioRxiv 2020.02.18.935494; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.18.935494

Abstract
Animals rely on chemical signals to forage for food, shelter, and mates. Such behaviors call for odor cues to be linked to locations within their environment. Nonetheless, where and how this happens in the brain is not known. Here, we show that spatial and olfactory information converge in posterior piriform cortex (pPCx), an olfactory region with strong associative circuity. Ensembles of pPCx neurons recorded in rats performing an odor-cued spatial navigation task were robustly selective for both odor identity and spatial location, forming an “odor-place map”. Spatially-selective pPCx neurons displayed joint selectivity for odors, stability across behavioral contexts and functional coupling to the hippocampal theta rhythm. These results implicate the pPCx as a strong candidate region to associate spatial and olfactory information in support of navigational behavior.”

Cindy Poo, Gautam Agarwal, Niccolò Bonacchi, Zachary Mainen. Spatial maps in olfactory cortex during olfactory navigation
bioRxiv 2020.02.18.935494; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.18.935494