Presentation Details
| Sniffing as a Key Modulator of Thalamic Salience Processing in Mice Janardhan P Bhattarai1, Carolyn Mann1, Geronimo Velazquez-Hernandez1, Yingqi Wang1, Brittany C Chapman1, Sravana Nuti1, Edgar Arturo Diaz Hernandez1, Juee Naik1, Tammi Coleman1, Abby Lieberman1, Marc V Fuccillo1, Daniel W Wesson2, Steven A Thomas3, Wenqin Luo1, Timothy A Machado1, Minghong Ma1. 1Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.2Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Center for Smell and Taste, Center for Addiction Research and Education University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA.3Department of Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA |
Abstract
The ability to recognize and respond to important sensory stimuli is vital for survival. The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) plays a critical role in processing such salient information and has recently been considered as a part of the salience network. Without direct connections with sensory systems, how the PVT responds to diverse sensory stimuli remains enigmatic. To explore this, using a novel mouse line which allows genetic access to a large portion of PVT neurons, we monitored Ca2+ signals in the PVT via fiber photometry, simultaneously with nasal breathing recordings, in freely behaving mice. We presented a range of salient stimuli across various sensory modalities (olfactory, visual, auditory and/or somatosensory) and valences (positive or negative, innate or learned), which typically resulted in elevated PVT activity that coincided with sniffing bouts. The PVT activity is linearly scaled with stimulus-induced breathing frequency change regardless of sensory modality or valence and this relationship extends to spontaneous sniffing bouts. Artificial neural network decoding models reveal that breathing signal, but not locomotor speed, accurately predicts PVT activity. Furthermore, this sniffing-related PVT activity does not depend on respiration-entrained sensory inputs or noradrenergic signaling mediated arousal but may result from direct input from the brainstem breathing center. Taken together, our findings suggest that the PVT responds to salient stimuli by tracking breathing frequency changes (e.g., sniffing), highlighting that sniffing-related neural signals are an integral part of salience processing within the brain.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.