# How Olfactory Information is Transformed from Bulb to Cortex

> **NIH NIH U19** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $435,773

## Abstract

Summary (Project 2: How olfactory information is transformed from bulb to cortex)
Understanding how sensation is transformed into perception is a central challenge for neuroscience. Sensory
information is detected by receptors that interact with the external world. This information is then routed, through
multiple stages of processing, to cortical sensory areas, where perception first emerges. In this project we take
advantage of the relatively “shallow” organization of the rodent olfactory system to determine how odor infor-
mation is directly transformed from olfactory bulb to piriform cortex; essentially, examining the transformation of
sensory representations of the olfactory input in the bulb to cortical representations of the olfactory percept within
a single stage of processing. To do this, we will combine the technical expertise of the Franks Lab (Duke Uni-
versity) at recording and analyzing activity of large populations of piriform neurons, with the expertise of Rinberg
Lab (New York University) at patterned optogenetic activation of olfactory bulb glomeruli. Combining our efforts
provides us the unique opportunity to directly activate defined areas of olfactory bulb (i.e. Input) while recording
from populations of neurons in piriform cortex (i.e. Output). This provides a unique opportunity to directly and
systematically determine how olfactory information is transformed from an elemental sensory representation in
bulb into a holistic perceptual representation in cortex. We will then use a variety of molecular genetic tools to
selectively disrupt specific components of this circuit, which will reveal the distinct cellular operations that each
component plays in implementing this transformation. This project will therefore provide deep mechanistic insight
into how the brain transforms olfactory sensory information into cortical odor percepts. Thus, we are confident
that we will reveal the logic of the transformation of olfactory information from bulb to cortex However, the logic
and implementation of the bulb-to-piriform transformation is also likely to be instantiated at multiple other sites
throughout the brain, and often at sites that are deeply embedded within the brain, such as the hippocampus,
where access to both the Input and Output are more challenging, and so operations performed at these deeper
areas are more difficult to interpret. We are therefore optimistic that lessons learned while probing our olfactory
circuit will generate generalizable principles that will also apply to multiple other, similarly organized systems.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10200167
- **Project number:** 5U19NS112953-03
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Kevin Franks
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $435,773
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10200167

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10200167, How Olfactory Information is Transformed from Bulb to Cortex (5U19NS112953-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10200167. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*