# The function of respiratory-linked local field potential oscillations in human olfactory and limbic brain regions

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $416,475

## Abstract

Since it is not possible to encounter a smell in our external environment without first inhaling through the nose,
stimulus sampling in the olfactory system is inextricably linked to breathing. Respiratory-driven local field
potential (LFP) oscillations are important for odor coding mechanisms in the rodent olfactory bulb, but their role
in higher olfactory structures such as piriform cortex is not well understood, with even less known about
respiratory oscillations in the human brain. While breathing drives oscillations in the brain, the reverse must
also be true; stimulus sampling in the olfactory system requires overriding of autonomic respiratory rhythms in
order to achieve intentional sniffing and fast adaptive sniff modifications in response to chemical stimuli. The
overarching goal of this proposal is to understand the function of respiratory oscillations in the human brain,
including their role in the formation of odor-evoked responses in olfactory brain regions and fostering
communication across limbic networks involved in odor sampling and fast adaptive sniffing modifications. We
also aim to elucidate limbic networks involved in olfactory sampling behaviors. To measure LFPs from medial
olfactory structures in the human brain, we will use intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) with a high
sampling rate (up to 10,000Hz), allowing analysis of limbic LFP oscillations across a range of frequencies. We
will use a combination of iEEG, direct electrical stimulation, psychophysics and functional neuroimaging and
tractography techniques to accomplish the goals of three Specific Aims. First, we will test the hypothesis that
slow respiratory-linked LFP oscillations organize the spectral and temporal structure of odor-evoked responses
in human piriform cortex. To isolate the impact of slow respiratory-driven oscillations on odor codes, we will
deliver odors in the presence and absence of sniffs, accomplished by velopharyngeal closure paired with
artificial air flow through the nose. Second, we will test the hypothesis that slow respiratory oscillations across
a limbic network of regions important for respiratory control mediate odor sampling, or sniffing behaviors. Here
we will use iEEG techniques, electrical stimulation and MRI techniques to study limbic networks involved in the
control of nasal breathing with a particular emphasis on the amygdala. Third, we will use iEEG, electrical
stimulation and psychophysics to test the hypothesis that adaptive fast sniffing reductions in response to
potentially threatening odors are mediated by the amygdala, and can generalize to non-olfactory stimuli in
anxious states. The proposed studies have several direct clinical applications. Research on Sudden
Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), the most common cause of death in patients with Epilepsy, implicates
respiratory dysfunction as a potential cause, with converging evidence for an amygdalar role in the disease
(13,14). In so far as our proposal aims to ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9913507
- **Project number:** 5R01DC016364-03
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Christina Maria Zelano
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $416,475
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9913507

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9913507, The function of respiratory-linked local field potential oscillations in human olfactory and limbic brain regions (5R01DC016364-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9913507. Licensed CC0.

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