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:
Sterrett, S., Findley, T., Rafilson, S., Brown, M., Weible, A., Tarvin, T., Marsden, R., Wehr, M., Murray, J., Fairhall, A., Smear, M.C. (2024). The olfactory bulb tracks breathing rhythms and place in freely-behaving mice. eLife https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.105088.1
Rafilson, S., Hess, N., Findley, T., Smear, M.C. (2024) Challenges in inferring breathing rhythms from olfactory bulb local field potentials. Chemical Senses, Volume 50 https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjaf026
Miller, C. T., Gire, D. H., Hoke, K. L., Huk, A. C., Kelley, D. B., Leopold, D. A., Smear, M. C., Theunissen, F. E., Yartsev, M. M., & Niell, C. M. (2022). Natural behavior is the language of the brain. Current Biology, 32(9), R443–R448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.031
Findley, T., Wyrick, D., Cramer, J., Brown, M., et al, Ahmadian, Y., Smear, M.C*. (2021). Sniff-synchronized, gradient-guided olfactory search by freely moving mice. eLife https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.58523
Parker, P., Brown, M., Smear, M.C., Niell, C. (2020) Movement-related signals in sensory areas: roles in natural behavior, Trends in Neurosciences, 43: 581-595
Baker, K.L., Dickinson, M., Findley, T. M., Gire, D.H., Louis, M., Suver, M.P., Verhagen, J.V., Nagel, K.I.*, Smear, M.C.* (2018) Algorithms for olfactory search across species. J. Neurosci.
Dr. Smear is accepting Graduate Students for Fall 2026
