Research Projects

The field of Neuroscience ventures to answer how our brain forms cognitive maps from the sensory information available in the external environment. Many of the neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s Disease and Schizophrenia show symptoms related to disrupted cognitive maps. Olfaction is one of the key senses which updates environmental information in all organisms including humans. Moreover, many of the neurological disorders show disrupted olfactory sensation. Following from previous theoretical postulates of Hopfield my postdoctoral research shows that naturally occurring olfactory signals carry spatial information through their inherent temporal dynamics. Furthermore, we have observed that the mammalian brain can perceive such rapid temporal dynamics, and the olfactory bulb can represent odour frequency upto 20 Hz. However, it is unknown whether and how such information gets encoded by the rest of the brain and especially the higher order cortex which is known to be associated with object perception, decision making, and memory. The current proposal hypothesize that the piriform cortex circuit which is the first cortical area of the olfactory system can encode odour temporal features. Based on our preliminary findings from a biophysically relevant model, we predict that a substantial proportion of principal neurons can significantly discriminate odour frequency. Using Neuropixel recordings in vivo the proposal would investigate how the piriform cortex neurons represent different odour temporal features distinctly. This would allow to us to look for probable circuit level mechanisms underlying encoding of odour temporal features. Furthermore, using pharmacological agents, we would also dissect out specific roles of the neuronal types in the circuit phenomenon. Overall, the proposal envisions to look for mechanistic underpinnings of odour temporal features in the piriform cortex which in turn will help us push the horizon of circuit mechanisms underlying physiological and diseased conditions.