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Plenaries

03/10 - 09:00
Plenary Lecture (Aula Magna)

Matt Wachowiak

University of Utah, USA

Title:
“Interoception by olfactory sensory neurons? Linking tuning, timing and transformations in odor representations”.

Odors – chemical signals from the environment – are primary sensory drivers of behavior in most animal species and provide information essential to survival. At the same time, olfaction represents a vulnerable point of contact between the interior of an organism and chemicals in its external environment. To deal with this hazard, vertebrates and invertebrates alike express a variety of xenobiotic enzymes in olfactory tissues, which convert incoming chemicals to more water-soluble forms that are easily removed from tissue. However, such metabolites can themselves function as odorants, activating distinct olfactory sensory neurons. We have recently found that this process is a major organizing feature of the temporal and 'spatial' (i.e., identity-based) neural representations of odors among olfactory sensory neurons and their mapping to glomeruli of the mouse olfactory bulb. Odorant metabolites thus represent an internally-generated odor source that may confound the coding and recognition of external chemical signals. We propose that the nervous system resolves this confound using inhalation-linked timing as a neural feature that separates externally-sampled from internally-generated odor signals. We also propose that this timing-based strategy allows for the separate encoding of other internally-generated odors from sources such as ingested food, or volatiles in exhaled air that desorb from the blood during respiration. Such signals carry important information about internal body state. I will discuss the hypothesis that, rather than suppressing signals from such sources, downstream circuits may differentially route olfactory afferent signals to higher-order centers based on their respiration-linked dynamics, allowing for olfactory sensory neurons to transmit both external and interoceptive olfactory information and for each mode of signaling to adaptively drive behavior.

Funding: National Institutes of Health (NIDCD); National Science Foundation
(Neuronex)

04/10 - 09:00
Plenary Lecture (Aula Magna)

Daniel Tomsic

IFIBYNE Instituto de Fisiologia, Biologia Molecular y Neurociencias Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Title:
“Neural computations underlying visually guided avoidance and pursuing behaviors: from the field to the laboratory and Back”

For many moving animals, visual motion is a crucial guide for behavior. Sensitivity to motion likely evolved to anticipate predators and capture moving prey. To escape threats, animals must identify danger, locate it precisely, and evaluate their surroundings for shelter, often relying on past experiences. By integrating these cues with early visual detection, they can decide whether to freeze, flee, or confront the threat—and, if fleeing, when, where, and how fast to escape, sometimes within split seconds. Remarkably, even small-brained animals can process complex information, form long-term memories, and execute precise motor patterns.

Certain crab species serve as excellent models for neuroethological research, thanks to their rich repertoire of visually guided behaviors and suitability for in vivo electrophysiology. In this talk, I will present our findings on Neohelice, focusing on visually driven avoidance and prey capture. Our approach combines field and laboratory behavioral analyses, neuroanatomy, intracellular and multielectrode recordings, and computational modeling. A central focus is on identified motion-sensitive giant neurons and their role in visuo-motor transformations that control speed and direction during prey capture and escape. Our results highlight the differences between behavior observed under laboratory conditions and behavior occurring in the natural environment.

05/10 - 09:30
Federal Conference (Aula Magna)

Andrés Garelli

Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca (UNS-CONICET), Argentina

Title:
"Neuroendocrine modulation of the pupariation motor program in Drosophila"

Innate behaviors consist of genetically hardwired sequences of motor programs that can be coupled to morphogenetic changes. By studying pupariation—an innate behavior that reshapes the Drosophila larval body in preparation for metamorphosis—we provide insight into the neural circuits and modulators that generate complex motor patterns and the mechanisms that coordinate them with morphological changes that are critical for survival. Using classical genetic tools and optogenetic control of neuronal activity, we describe a periphery-to-CNS endocrine regulatory loop that links behavioral initiation with developmental timing. This loop involves a minimal neuronal population positioned at the top of the circuit hierarchy, orchestrating a complex, stereotyped motor pattern. We will also present our most recent data identifying downstream components of this neuronal circuit, including neurons with command-like activity that control specific behavioral phases, and highlight the profound influence of neuromodulators in shaping these activity patterns. Our results establish the pupariation motor program as a model for investigating the neuroanatomical basis of behavior, reveal the complexity of innate behavior control, and contribute to our understanding of how multistep innate behaviors are temporally coordinated and integrated with developmental processes through an ensemble of neuropeptidergic signals.

05/10 - 18:00
Plenary Lecture (Aula Magna)

Conferencia en homenaje a la Prof. Dra. Georgina E. Rodríguez de Lores Arnaiz.

Antonia Marin Burgin

IBIOBA – MPSP, Instituto de Investigaciones en biomedicina de Buenos Aires-Instituto Partner de la sociedad Max Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Title:
“Experience dependent sensory processing”

Sensory processing in the brain unfolds through a hierarchy of regions that increasingly abstract and interpret incoming stimuli. While primary sensory cortices have long been considered dedicated to encoding the physical features of stimuli, recent studies in awake, behaving animals challenge this classical view. Neural responses in these areas are now known to be far more dynamic and context-dependent than previously thought.

In this talk, I will present recent findings from our lab that explore how experience shapes odor representations in the primary olfactory piriform cortex (PCx) of mice. Olfactory perception is inherently modulated by context, memory, and internal state, yet how and where these non-olfactory influences are integrated into cortical processing remains unclear. Using electrophysiological recordings in mice performing an odor-guided task within a virtualreality environment, we investigated how visual context and learning influence PCx activity.

Mice were trained to associate specific odors with spatial and visual cues in order to receive a reward. We found that, with learning, PCx neurons shifted from purely sensory responses to mixed selectivity, encoding not only odors but also positional, contextual, and associative information. These extra-sensory modulations were dynamic and task-dependent, enhancing odor decoding specifically during task engagement and in rewarded contexts.

Our results demonstrate that the PCx integrates non-olfactory information early in the sensory hierarchy, and that this integration supports more flexible and behaviorally relevant odor representations. This work reveals a critical mechanism by which sensory cortices can dynamically incorporate experiential and contextual signals to guide perception and action.

Acknowledgements
Argentine Agency for the Promotion of Science and Technology, PICT2020-00360, Swiss
National Science Foundation (SNSF) SPIRIT 216044 and FOCEM-Mercosur COF 03/11