Dr. Smear studies the neural mechanisms of olfactory function in mice. Mice have an excellent sense of smell – much of their genome encodes odorant receptors (over 1000 genes), and a large portion of their brain processes olfactory information. These neural features support a rich repertoire of olfactory behaviors. The Smear lab interrogates olfactory function with a battery of psychophysical tests, while manipulating and recording neuronal activity with genetics, electrophysiology, and imaging. From these studies, the lab will pursue general principles of how neural circuits generate behavior.

Selected Publications:

Smear, M.C. (2015). Beyond localization of function: Using optogenetics to dissect a neural code. In New techniques in systems neuroscience, 271-292.

Smear, M.C., Resulaj, A., Zhang, J., Bozza, T.C., and Rinberg, D. (2013). Multiple perceptible signals from a single olfactory glomerulus. Nat. Neurosci, 16:1687-1691.

Reisert, J., Golden, G.J., Matsumura, K., Smear, M.C., Rinberg, D., and Gelperin, A. (2013). Comparing thoracic and intra-nasal pressure transients to monitor active odor sampling during odor-guided decision making in the mouse. J. Neurosci Methods, 221:8-14.

Moore, J.D., Deschenes, M., Huber, D., Smear, M.C., Demers, M., and Kleinfeld, D. (2013). A common brainstem oscillator coordinates whisking with breathing in rodents: Evidence for a master clock in orofacial behaviors. Nature 497:205-210.

Smear, M.C., Shusterman, R., O’Connor, R., Bozza, T.C., and Rinberg, D. (2011). Perception of sniff phase in mouse olfaction. Nature 479: 397–400.

Shusterman, R., Smear, M.C., Koulakov, A.A., and Rinberg, D. (2011). Precise olfactory responses tile the sniff cycle. Nat. Neurosci. 14:1039-1044.