Novel behavioral paradigm reveals lower temporal limits on mouse olfactory decisions

Abstract

Temporallimitsonperceptualdecisionssetstrictboundariesonthepossibleunderlyingneuralcomputations.Howodorinformationisencoded in the olfactory system is still poorly understood. Here, we sought to define the limit on the speed of olfactory processing. To achieve this, we trained mice to discriminate different odor concentrations in a novel behavioral setup with precise odor delivery synchronized to the sniffing cycle. Mice reported their choice by moving a horizontal treadmill with their front limbs. We found that mice reported discriminations of 75% accuracy in 70–90 ms after odor inhalation. For a low concentration and nontrigeminal odorant, this time was 90–140 ms, showing that mice process odor information rapidly even in the absence of trigeminal stimulation. These response times establish, after accounting for odor transduction and motor delays, that olfactory processing can take tens of milliseconds. This study puts a strong limit on the underlying neural computations and suggests that the action potentials forming the neural basis for these decisions are fired in a few tens of milliseconds.