Sniff Invariant Odor Coding

Sampling regulates stimulus intensity and temporal dynamics at the sense organ. Despite variations in sampling behavior, animals must make veridical perceptual judgments about external stimuli. In olfaction, odor sampling varies with respiration, which influences neural responses at the olfactory periphery. Nevertheless, rats were able to perform fine odor intensity judgments despite variations in sniff kinetics. To identify the features of neural activity supporting stable intensity perception, in awake mice we measured responses of mitral/tufted (MT) cells to different odors and concentrations across a range of sniff frequencies. Amplitude and latency of the MT cells’ responses vary with sniff duration. A fluid dynamics (FD) model based on odor concentration kinetics in the intranasal cavity can account for this variability. Eliminating sniff waveform dependence of MT cell responses using the FD model allows for significantly better decoding of concentration. This suggests potential schemes for sniff waveform invariant odor concentration coding.