Differential Serotonergic Modulation of Synaptic Inputs to the Olfactory Cortex

Serotonin (5-hydroxytriptamine, 5-HT) is an important monoaminergic neuromodulator involved in a variety of physiological and pathological functions. It has been implicated in the regulation of sensory functions at various stages of multiple modalities, but its mechanisms and functions in the olfactory system have remained elusive. Combining electrophysiology, optogenetics and pharmacology, here we show that afferent (feed-forward) pathway-evoked synaptic responses are boosted, whereas feedback responses are suppressed by presynaptic 5-HT(1B) receptors in the anterior piriform cortex (aPC) in vitro. Blocking 5-HT(1B) receptors also reduces the suppressive effects of serotonergic photostimulation of baseline firing in vivo. We suggest that by regulating the relative weights of synaptic inputs to aPC, 5-HT finely tunes sensory inputs in the olfactory cortex.