Mitral & Tufted Cell

Cellula mitralis

The output neurons of the olfactory bulb, each one sampling a single odorant receptor channel out of the ~400 that constitute the human sense of smell.

Function

Each mitral cell samples one glomerulus, which receives input from ~5,000 olfactory sensory neurons all expressing a single odorant receptor, Linda Buck and Richard Axel's one-receptor-one-neuron logic. Lateral inhibition from periglomerular and granule cells sharpens the odor code before it projects to piriform cortex.

Morphology

Large soma in the mitral cell layer (or the external plexiform layer, for tufted cells). A single thick primary dendrite enters one glomerulus and arborises inside it; several lateral secondary dendrites spread within the external plexiform layer. A glutamatergic axon exits through the lateral olfactory tract.

Specification

  • Neurotransmitter: Glutamate
  • Receptors: AMPA; NMDA; GABA-A
  • Location: Olfactory bulb (mitral cell layer for mitral; external plexiform layer for tufted).
  • Projections: Olfactory cortex; Amygdala
  • Firing: Respiration-locked bursting
  • Markers: TBX21; SLC17A7/VGLUT1 (or SLC17A6/VGLUT2 by species); CDH22 (supporting)
  • Developmental origin: Telencephalon
  • Disease: Anosmia; Early Parkinson's/Alzheimer's
  • Cell Ontology: CL:1001502

References

  1. Mombaerts P et al. (1996). Visualizing an olfactory sensory map.. Cell 87: 675–686 PMID 8929536
  2. Buck L & Axel R (1991). A novel multigene family may encode odorant receptors: a molecular basis for odor recognition.. Cell 65: 175–187 PMID 1840504

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