Connexins and olfactory synchronicity: toward the olfactory code

Abstract

A striking example of neuronal synchronization occurs in the mammalian main olfactory bulb where mitral cells that project to the same glomerular unit display highly synchronized spike activity. In this issue of Neuron, Christie et al. use mice deficient for the gap junction protein connexin36 (Cx36) to demonstrate that Cx36-mediated electrical coupling underlies such synchrony.