Weak signal amplification and detection by higher-order sensory neurons

Detection of explosives by olfactory sensory neurons.

The response of olfactory sensory neurons to TNT and RDX as well as to some volatile organic compounds present in the vapors of antipersonnel landmines has been studied both in the pig and in the rat. GC/MS analyses of different plastic components of six different kinds of landmines were performed in order to identify the components of the "perfume" of mines. Studies on rat olfactory mucosa wer...

Weak signal detection

How often are we wise after the event? With the benefit of hindsight we see that we should have paid attention to something but at the time it seemed irrelevant. It may not even have been brought to the attention of the responsible executive as it was considered trivial. We may not have even seen the relevant data, even if we saw it then we may not have paid it much attention. Even if we or our...

Cortical Sensory Responses Are Enhanced by the Higher-Order Thalamus.

In the mammalian brain, thalamic signals reach the cortex via two major routes: primary and higher-order thalamocortical pathways. While primary thalamocortical nuclei transmit sensory signals from the periphery, the function of higher-order thalamocortical projections remains enigmatic, in particular their role in sensory processing in the cortex. Here, by optogenetically controlling the thala...

Molecular components of signal amplification in olfactory sensory cilia.

The mammalian olfactory system detects an unlimited variety of odorants with a limited set of odorant receptors. To cope with the complexity of the odor world, each odorant receptor must detect many different odorants. The demand for low odor selectivity creates problems for the transduction process: the initial transduction step, the synthesis of the second messenger cAMP, operates with low ef...

A general model for higher order neurons