Information for Decision Making and Stimulus Identification is Multiplexed in Sensory Cortex

In recordings from anterior piriform cortex (APC) in awake behaving mice we find that neuronal firing early in the olfactory pathway simultaneously conveys fundamentally different information: odor value – is the odor rewarded? - and identity - what is the smell? Thus, this sensory system performs early multiplexing of information reflecting stimulus–specific characteristics with that used for decision-making.