Sensing olfactory signals in the environment represents a crucial and significant task of sensory systems in almost all organisms to facilitate survival and reproduction. Notably, the olfactory system of diverse animal phyla shares astonishingly many fundamental principles with regard to anatomical and functional properties. Binding of odor ligands by chemosensory receptors present in the olfactory peripheral organs leads to a neuronal activity that is conveyed to first and higher-order brain centers leading to a subsequent odor-guided behavioral decision. One of the key centers for integrating and processing innate olfactory behavior is the lateral horn (LH) of the protocerebrum in insects. In recent years the LH of Drosophila has garnered increasing attention and many studies have been dedicated to elucidate its circuitry. In this review we will summarize the recent advances in mapping and characterizing LH-specific cell types, their functional properties with respect to odor tuning, their neurotransmitter profiles, their connectivity to pre-synaptic and post-synaptic partner neurons as well as their impact for olfactory behavior as known so far.

中文翻译：

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果蝇侧角的嗅觉处理


感知环境中的嗅觉信号是几乎所有生物体的感觉系统的一项至关重要且重要的任务，以促进生存和繁殖。值得注意的是，不同动物门的嗅觉系统在解剖和功能特性方面有着惊人的许多共同的基本原理。嗅觉周围器官中存在的化学感应受体与气味配体的结合会产生神经元活动，该神经元活动被传递到第一级和高级大脑中心，从而导致随后的气味引导的行为决策。整合和处理先天嗅觉行为的关键中心之一是昆虫原大脑的侧角（LH）。近年来，果蝇的 LH 受到越来越多的关注，许多研究致力于阐明其电路。在这篇综述中，我们将总结在绘制和表征 LH 特异性细胞类型方面的最新进展、它们在气味调节方面的功能特性、它们的神经递质概况、它们与突触前和突触后伙伴神经元的连接以及它们对迄今为止已知的嗅觉行为。