Abstract
The fish olfactory system processes odor signals and mediates behaviors that are crucial for survival such as foraging, courtship, and alarm response. Although the upstream olfactory brain areas (olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulb) are well-studied, less is known about their target brain areas and the role they play in generating odor-driven behaviors. Here we review a broad range of literature on the anatomy, physiology, and behavioral output of the olfactory system and its target areas in a wide range of teleost fish. Additionally, we discuss how applying recent technological advancements to the zebrafish (Danio rerio) could help in understanding the function of these target areas. We hope to provide a framework for elucidating the neural circuit computations underlying the odor-driven behaviors in this small, transparent, and genetically amenable vertebrate.
Highlights
Teleosts, the infraclass to which zebrafish belong, account for nearly half of all extant vertebrate species
The olfactory system is of particular relevance to systems neuroscience due to the large variety of stimuli that need to be encoded as well as the simple but interesting computations it performs, such as gain control, pattern decorrelation, categorization, and detecting weak stimuli despite highly dynamic background “noise.” olfactory stimuli can trigger a wide range of behaviors related to reproduction, appetite, fear, and anxiety, which allow the study of the brain circuits that are involved in generating these essential behaviors
Retrograde labeling of the olfactory epithelium following lipophilic tracer application to different bulbar domains showed that crypt cells project to the ventral olfactory bulb in carp and to the dorsomedial olfactory bulb in zebrafish (Hamdani el and Doving, 2006; Gayoso et al, 2012)
Summary
The infraclass to which zebrafish belong, account for nearly half of all extant vertebrate species. There already exists a wealth of literature on the teleost olfactory system, pre-dating many genetic and optical techniques, in such members as goldfish and catfish. Despite these variations, the architecture of the zebrafish olfactory system is fundamentally similar to that of other vertebrates. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become increasingly popular in systems neuroscience The success of this model organism is mainly due to its small brain that is amenable to functional imaging and genetic manipulations. This alarm response is characterized by darting followed by slow swimming or freezing (Speedie and Gerlai, 2008; Doving and Lastein, 2009)
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