Conserved Post-Odor Dynamics in the Olfactory Systems of Mice and Locusts

Authors

• Elizabeth H Moss
• Doris Ling
• Cameron L Smith
• Feiyang Deng
• Ryan Kroeger
• Jacob Reimer
• Baranidharan Raman
• Benjamin R Arenkiel

Language

English

Publication Date

4-17-2026

Journal

iScience

DOI

10.1016/j.isci.2026.115373

PMID

41971993

PMCID

PMC13066794

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

3-16-2026

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

Interpreting chemical information and translating it into ethologically relevant output is a shared challenge of olfactory systems across species, but are olfactory computations conserved across species to overcome these common challenges? To investigate this, we compared neural activity in the locust antennal lobe (AL) and mouse olfactory bulb (OB) both during and after odor presentations. We found that odors activated nearly mutually exclusive neural ensembles during odor presentations ("ON response") and after the termination of the odor stimulus ("OFF response"). ON and OFF responses evoked by a single odor were anticorrelated with each other. Inverted OFF responses persisted long after odor termination in both AL and OB, and enhanced contrast between odors that were experienced close together in time. Together our results show how post-odor neural activity, relative to odor-evoked activity, is similar across two distinct species, revealing a conserved mechanism for enhancing contrast between odors at the neural level.

Keywords

biological sciences, neuroscience, sensory neuroscience

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Moss, Elizabeth H; Ling, Doris; Smith, Cameron L; et al., "Conserved Post-Odor Dynamics in the Olfactory Systems of Mice and Locusts" (2026). Faculty, Staff and Students Publications. 7256.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/7256