Electrophysiological responses of single olfactory bulb neurons to binary mixtures of amino acids in the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.

1. For the first time in any vertebrate, responses of single olfactory bulb neurons to odorant mixtures were studied quantitatively in the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. 2. Extracellular electrophysiological responses of 61 single olfactory bulb neurons from 36 channel catfish to binary mixtures of amino acids and to their components were recorded simultaneously with the electro-olfactogram (EOG). Tested were a total of 297 mixture trials consisting of 18 different stimulus pairs formed from 8 amino acids. 3. For 42% (126 of the 297) of the tests, no significant change (N) from spontaneous activity occurred. Responses to the remaining 171 tests of binary mixtures were excitatory (E; 29%) or suppressive (S; 29%). No response type was associated with any specific mixture across the neurons sampled. 4. Mixture interactions that changed response types (E or S) from those observed to the individual components were rare, because 89% of the responses of single olfactory bulb neurons to the tested binary mixtures were classified similarly as the responses to at least one of the components. 5. Responses of single olfactory bulb neurons were generally predictable for binary mixtures whose component responses were classified as both E, both S, and both N. For binary mixtures whose component responses were classified differently (e.g., one component evoked excitatory responses and the other evoked suppressive responses), the predictability of the response was dependent on the specific mixture type.