Research Interests and Directions:

The vast capacity of the brain to process and store information arises from the large number of neurons and their synaptic connectivity.  Research in my laboratory is motivated by a desire to understand how neural circuits process information and how they adapt to changing conditions.

We develop and use novel optical and physiological methods in the living animal to seek answers to the following general questions in the main olfactory system of rodents:

*How is odor information represented in the early stages of the olfactory system?
*What is the logic of functional synaptic circuits in the early stages of the olfactory system?
*How is information processing affected by different brain states - sleep, wakefulness and neuromodulation?
*How are functional circuits in the olfactory system regulated by odor experience?

Selected Publications:

Hagiwara, A., Pal, S.K., Sato, T.F., Wienisch, M. and Murthy, V.N. 2012.  Optophysiological analysis of associational circuits in the olfactory cortex.  Front. Neural Circuits 6:18. doi: 10.3389/fncir.2012.00018

Wienisch, M, Blauvelt, D, Sato, T.F. and Murthy, V.N. 2012.  Two-photon imaging of neural activity in awake, head-restrained mice.  Neuromethods 67:45-60. doi: 10.1007/7657_2011_18

Petzold, G.C. and Murthy, V.N. 2011.  Role of astrocytes in neurovascular coupling.  Neuron 71:782-797.

Murthy, V.N. 2011.  Olfactory maps in the brain.  Ann. Rev. Neurosci. 34:233-258.

Isogai, Y., Si, S., Pont-Lezica, L., Tan, T., Kapoor, V., Murthy, V.N. and Dulac, C. 2011.  Molecular organization of vomeronasal chemoreception.  Nature, 478:241-245. doi: 10.1038/nature10437

Dhawale, A.K., Hagiwara, A., Bhalla, U.S., Murthy, V.N* and Albeanu, D.F.* 2010.  Non-redundant odor coding by sister mitral cells revealed by light addressable glomeruli in the mouse.  Nature Neurosci. 13:1404-1412. (* co-senior authors).

Qing, Q., Pal, S.K., Tian, B., Duan, X., Timko, B.P., Cohen-Karni, T., Murthy, V.N.* and Lieber, C.M.* 2010.  Nanowire transistor arrays for mapping neural circuits in acute brain slices.  PNAS USA. 107:1882-1887. (* co-senior authors)

Petzold, G.C., Hagiwara, A. and Murthy, V.N. 2009. Serotonergic modulation of odor input to the mammalian olfactory bulb.  Nature Neurosci. 12:784-791.

Soucy, E.R.*, Albeanu, D.F.*, Fantana, A.L., Murthy, V.N.** and Meister, M.** 2009. Precision and diversity in an odour map on the olfactory bulb.  Nature Neurosci. 12:210-220. (* equal first authors; ** co-senior authors)

Petzold, G.C., Albeanu, D.F., Sato, T.F. and Murthy, V.N. 2008.  Coupling of neural activity to blood flow in olfactory glomeruli is mediated by astrocytic pathways.  Neuron 58:897-910.

Tyler, W.J., Pal, S.K., Petzold G. and Murthy, V.N. 2007. Experience-dependent modification in sensory synapses in the mammalian olfactory bulb.  J. Neurosci. 27:9427-9438.

Petzold, G.C., Albeanu, D.F., Sato, T.F., and Murthy, V.N. (2008)  Coupling of neural activity to blood flow in olfactory glomeruli is mediated by astrocytic pathways.  Neuron. 58:897-910.