Functional Organization of a Continuously Growing Compound Nose

Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc., Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

This project is to understand how nervous systems are organized to allow animals to perceive their odor worlds and to respond appropriately. The animal model to be used in this work is the spiny lobster, and the system is its chemosensory system -- the olfactory organ, called the 'antennule' or 'nose'). The spiny lobster is ideal as an animal model because its sense of smell is very well developed and has been well studied at many levels, thus providing us with an intellectual framework from which to ask higher-order questions about sensory processing. To understand the functional organization of this system, it is necessary to understand not only the adult pattern of organization, but also how during growth and development this pattern is established and maintained. So, the first major aim of our project is to compare the central connections and behavioral roles of the several distinct components of the olfactory organ of adult animals - what is the role of each pathway in olfactory discrimination and orientation tasks, and how are these roles related to their peripheral and central neural organization. Behavioral and anatomical techniques will be used to answer this question. The second major aim is to understand how this olfactory organ maintains its functional organization throughout the animal's life, even while there is a continuous process of birth, maturation, and death of olfactory cells. This aim will be answered with cellular, molecular, and physiological approaches to development. These studies will generate an understanding of the dynamic nature of this chemosensory system and of the developmental factors that control olfactory processing. In the end, it will lead to a comparative view of neural solutions to fundamental problems of sensory processing.