ELSC Seminar Series

Oscillatory activity is a fundamental feature of neuronal function across brain regions. While numerous studies suggest that neuronal synchrony enhances sensory information transmission, direct causal evidence remains elusive. Moreover, synchrony is often driven by increased inhibitory neuron activity, which suppresses output neuron spiking and potentially reduces information transmission. The mechanisms underlying how distributed neuronal ensembles achieve synchronization also remain poorly understood. To address these questions, we examined odor-evoked responses in the olfactory bulb and piriform cortex. Odors are known to elicit robust gamma oscillations in the olfactory bulb, but the circuits driving this synchronization and its impact on downstream neurons are unclear. Our findings uncover a neural circuit that selectively synchronizes odor-activated neurons. We demonstrate that increased synchrony enhances the transmission of odor information to downstream neurons, despite a reduction in spike counts. These results suggest that synchronous activity coding can effectively transform into a rate code, providing new insights into neural communication and coding strategies.