Cholecystokinin-expressing superficial tufted cells modulate odour representation in the olfactory bulb and olfactory behaviours

In mammals, odour information within the olfactory bulb (OB) is processed by complex neural circuits before being ultimately represented in the action potential activity of mitral/tufted cells (M/Ts). Cholecystokinin-expressing (CCK⁺) superficial tufted cells (sTCs) are a subset of tufted cells that potentially contribute to olfactory processing in the OB by orchestrating M/T activity. However, the exact role of CCK⁺ sTCs in modulating odour processing and olfactory function in vivo is largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that manipulating CCK⁺ sTCs can generate perception and induce place avoidance. Optogenetic activation/inactivation of CCK⁺ sTCs exerted strong but differing effects on spontaneous and odour-evoked M/T firing. Furthermore, inactivation of CCK⁺ sTCs disrupted M/T odour encoding and impaired olfactory detection and odour discrimination. These results establish the role of CCK⁺ sTCs in odour representation and olfactory behaviours. KEY POINTS: Mice could perceive the activity of CCK⁺ sTCs and show place avoidance to CCK⁺ sTC inactivation. Optical activation of CCK⁺ sTCs increased the percentage of cells with odour response but reduced the odour-evoked response in M/Ts in awake mice. Optical inactivation of CCK⁺ sTCs greatly decreased spontaneous firing and odour-evoked response in M/Ts. Inactivation of CCK⁺ sTCs impairs the odour decoding performance of M/Ts and disrupts odour detection and discrimination behaviours in mice. These results indicate that CCK⁺ sTCs participate in modulating the odour representation and maintaining normal olfactory-related behaviours.