# Shedding light on brain circuits mediating navigation of the odor plume in a natural environment

> **NIH NIH UF1** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2021 · $89,486

## Abstract

Project Summary
Navigating within an odor plume is a complex task due to unpredictable changes in odor concentration. The
algorithms used by organisms to navigate the odor plume remain mysterious and how the brain solves this
complex sensorimotor task key to escaping, mating and eating is unknown (1). The problem is challenging
because it requires parallel monitoring of: 1) brain activity in multiple brain regions in the freely moving animal,
2) odor plume dynamics, 3) sniffing and 4) animal motion. While optical imaging is an attractive solution,
imaging neural activity in multiple brain regions in the freely moving animal is currently impossible with either
commercial or custom miniscopes (2).
Members of our Odor Plume Neurophotonics (OPeN) interdisciplinary team developed a novel two photon
fiber-coupled microscope for 3D imaging of brain activity in the freely moving mouse under funding from an
NIH BRAIN U01 and an NSF NCS:FOUNDATIONS grant (3)(Bright, Gibson, Gopinath and Restrepo) and
quantified realistic odor environments in the laboratory to explore algorithms used for odor-guided navigation
under funding by an NSF Ideas Lab “Cracking the Olfactory Code” (Crimaldi)(4). Here, we leverage the
extensive expertise of the team to crack the circuit basis for odor plume navigation. We will develop a multi-site
miniature 3-photon fiber coupled microscope (3P-FCM) to record neuronal activity in four brain sites in two
planes of view. In addition, OPeN will develop a portable photoionization (PID) sensor to detect the odorant
concentration at the nostril as the animal navigates the odor plume. Finally, OPeN team members will develop
a Bayesian analysis method to decode odor plume navigation from neural activity. The OPeN advisory board
includes faculty from universities such as Cornell University and the University College of London, and will
include two Directors of NSF NeuroNex Hubs.
Understanding the circuit basis of odor plume navigation is impossible using current technology. This will be a
major accomplishment involving systems neuroscience, neurophotonics and environmental engineering. The
instruments and analysis methods developed by OPeN will be an important contribution to understanding brain
function in complex environments. OPeN will foster training of graduate students and postdocs cracking the
neural basis of odor plume navigation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10241846
- **Project number:** 3UF1NS116241-01S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Emily Gibson
- **Activity code:** UF1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $89,486
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10241846

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10241846, Shedding light on brain circuits mediating navigation of the odor plume in a natural environment (3UF1NS116241-01S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10241846. Licensed CC0.

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