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| Author(s): |
Vinicius Miessler de Andrade Carvalho
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | Campinas, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia |
| Defense date: | 2016-08-31 |
| Examining board members: |
Fabio Papes;
Newton Sabino Canteras;
Licio Augusto Velloso;
Jörg Kobarg;
Lisa Stowers Anderson
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| Advisor: | Fabio Papes |
| Abstract | |
The nervous system is organized to detect, internally represent and process sensory information to generate appropriate physiological and behavioral responses. Despite the crucial importance of odors that elicit instinctive behaviors, their neural representation remains little characterized in the mammalian brain. In this thesis, we have studied selected brain areas activated by a range of odors capable of eliciting instinctive behaviors (pheromones and kairomones), and found the brain to be exquisitely activated by odors from other species, especially predators. When we analyzed the representation of chemosignals in the medial nucleus of the amygdala in the brain, no spatial segregation in the representation of predator and conspecific odors was observed, contrary to previous models that implicated supposedly distinct sector of this brain area in social and predator defense behaviors. Surprisingly, however, we found a discernibly organized map of olfactory information in another higher brain center, where different stimuli entail activity in distinct and stereotypically positioned groups of neurons in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus. This activity pattern does not reflect the induced behaviors, as proposed by others, and seems to reflect the molecular receptors involved in the detection of these cues by the vomeronsasal organ. Therefore, the organization of olfactory information in the hypothalamus probably constitutes a sensory neural map, as opposed to a behavioral map. The surprising finding of such map in the limbic system will help understand how odor information is processed in the brain to generate instinctive behaviors, particularly those that are important for the survival of the individual and the species (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 12/21786-0 - Ascertainment and analysis of olfactory maps in the brain |
| Grantee: | Vinicius Miessler de Andrade Carvalho |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct) |