We study the emergent dynamics and encoding properties of olfactory bulb circuitry using live tissue slices laid down upon 60- and 120-channel planar multielectrode arrays (MEAs), and also through the analysis of in vivo data from olfactory bulb and piriform cortex. Briefly, olfactory bulb circuitry is intrinsically resonant, and imposes fast-timescale dynamics on incoming stimulus representations that shape the timing of principal neuron action potentials. We have described these PRING dynamics of olfactory bulb gamma oscillations, for which our MEA slice studies have provided important underlying data.
In current work, we are playing spatiotemporal patterns of light (‘movies’) onto OB slices using a custom optogenetics/electrophysiology rig and in-house Ceed software in order to generate spatiotemporally appropriate “artificial odors”. This new capacity enables us to systematically study the encoding of arbitrarily similar sensory stimuli, the mechanistic transformations of stimulus properties in neural tissue, and the underlying mechanisms of interareal synchronization and plasticity. We also collaborate with the Molnar lab in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering on microelectrode array development.