Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Publication Date

1-16-2026

Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-026-68313-7

PMID

41545404

PMCID

PMC12905176

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

1-16-2026

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

Sensory perception is shaped by experience, giving stimuli behavioral significance. Basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic neurons in mice, which are crucial for arousal and motivation, also regulate sensory processing. Within BF nuclei, glutamatergic (vGlut2BF) neurons receive cholinergic input and modulate behaviors, but their roles in encoding sensory significance remain unclear. Using in vivo calcium imaging, we found that vGlut2BF neurons initially poorly encoded odor identity. However, their response to conditioned odors increased following associative learning, and their population activity more distinctly encoded paired stimuli, reflecting emergent value representation. Furthermore, pairing stimulation or inhibition of vGlut2BF neurons with specific odors altered odor preferences, suggesting that appropriately timed vGlut2BF neuronal activity is sufficient to influence valence assignment. Our findings reveal that vGlut2BF neurons transform sensory input into motivationally significant stimuli, positioning the BF as a key hub for linking sensory processing with motivational states and experience-driven plasticity.

Keywords

Animals, Basal Forebrain, Mice, Odorants, Male, Neurons, Glutamic Acid, Olfactory Perception, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Female, Cholinergic Neurons, Smell, Motivation, Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 2, Sensory processing, Motivation

Published Open-Access

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