Temporal coding of odor mixtures in an olfactory receptor neuron

Most natural odors are mixtures and often elicit percepts distinct from those elicited by their constituents. This emergence of a unique odor quality has long been attributed to central processing. Here we show that sophisticated integration of olfactory information begins in olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in Drosophila. Odor mixtures are encoded in the temporal dynamics as well as in the magnitudes of ORN responses. ORNs can respond to an inhibitory odorant with different durations depending on the level of background excitation. ORNs respond to mixtures with distinctive temporal dynamics that reflect the physicochemical properties of the constituent odorants. The insect repellent DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), which attenuates odor responses of multiple ORNs, differs from an ORN-specific inhibitor in its effects on temporal dynamics. Our analysis reveals a means by which integration of information from odor mixtures begins in ORNs and provides insight into the contribution of inhibitory stimuli to sensory coding.