Storace Lab - FSU Biology

Our Research

The brain must transform sensory signals into a neural code that drives perception and behavior.

Background Segmentation

Distinguishing a percept from others in the background.

Concentration Invariance

Recognizing an odor as the same whether it's near or far away.

Concentration Sensitivity

Optimizing detection of the concentration changes.

Our hypothesis is that the olfactory bulb is critically involved in carrying out these functions.

Odor detection begins by the transmission of sensory cues into the olfactory bulb.

Odor Transduction

Inhaled odors bind to receptors located in the nasal cavity.

Odor Processing

Odor information is sent to the bulb (red) where it is transformed and transmitted to the rest of the brain (green).

We study how sensory information is transformed across this circuit.

Genetically encoded sensors are fluorescent proteins that report cellular activity.

Genetic targeting allows measurements of functional activity from different cell types.

Multi-color 2-photon imaging to simultaneously measure activitiy in different cell types

Functional trasformations within the bulb

Concentration sensitivity

Odor representations are stable across concentrations.

Background adjustments

Bulb processing generates background adjustments.

Lab Members

Douglas A. Storace, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Dr. Storace completed his Ph.D. in the laboratory of Heather Read at the University of Connecticut. His dissertation focused on anatomical and genetic markers to distinguish functionally distinct auditory cortical fields. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Lawrence Cohen at Yale University using genetically encoded voltage and calcium indicators to understand how odor signals are transformed by the olfactory bulb. He began his own laboratory at Florida State University in 2019 which uses the olfactory system as a model to define how sensory information is transformed by neural circuits.

Meizhu Qi

Graduate Assistant

My research is motivated by the interesting phenomenon that behavior of animals is modulated by their metabolic state. For example, the olfactory perception of obese mice is different from that of wild type. My dissertation is focused on understanding one possible neural pathway that links an organism’s metabolic state and sensory processing. Using tract tracing and immunohistochemical approaches I have comprehensively characterized the orexinergic pathway from the hypothalamus to the olfactory bulb, which may serve as a mechanism linking metabolic and sensory processing.

Publications

Leong LM, Rhee JK, Kim H, Seong J, Woo J, Han K, Storace DA, Baker BJ (2022). Precise temporal control of a GEVI’s conformation enables the visualization of charge migration in a fluorescent protein resulting an improved optical response. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.25.489330
Platisa J, Zeng H, Madisen L, Cohen LB, Pieribone VA, Storace DA. (2022). Voltage imaging in the olfactory bulb using transgenic mouse lines expressing the genetically encoded voltage indicator ArcLight. Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04482-3
Storace DA, Cohen LB. (2021). The olfactory bulb contributes to the adaptation of odor responses: a second perceptual computation carried out by the bulb. eNeuro. Aug 11; DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0322-21.2021
Martelli C, Storace DA. (2021). Stimulus driven functional transformations in the early olfactory system. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. Aug 3; DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.684742.
Oltmanns, S, Abben SF, Ender A, Aimon S, Kovacs R, Sigrist SJ, Storace DA, Geiger JRP, Raccuglia D. (2020). NOSA, an analytical toolbox for multicellular optical electrophysiology. Frontiers in Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00712
Storace DA, Cohen LB, Choi Y. (2019). Using genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs) to study the input-output transformation of the mammalian olfactory bulb. Front Cell Neurosci. Jul 31; 13:342. PMID: 31417362. PMCID: PMC6684792.
Storace DA, Cohen LB. (2017). Measuring the olfactory bulb input-output transformation reveals a contribution to the perception of odorant concentration invariance. Nat Commun. Jul 19;8(1):81.
Sepehri Rad M, Choi Y, Cohen LB, Baker BJ, Zhong S, Storace DA, Braubach OR (2017). Voltage and Calcium Imaging of Brain Activity. Biophys J. Nov 1. pii:S006-3495(17)31124-4.
Storace D, Sepehri Rad M, Kang B, Cohen LB, Hughes T, Baker BJ. (2016). Towards Better Genetically Sensors of Membrane Potential. Trends Neurosci. May;39(5):277-89.
Storace DA, Braubach OR, Jin L, Cohen LB, Sung U. (2015). Monitoring Brain Activity with Protein Voltage and Calcium Sensors. Sci Rep. May 13;5:10212.
Storace D., Sepehri Rad M., Han Z., Jin L., Cohen LB, Hughes T, Baker BJ, Sung U. (2015) Genetically Encoded Protein Sensors of Membrane Potential. In: Membrane Potential Imaging in the Nervous System and Heart, ed. by M. Canepari, D. Zecevic, and O. Bernus. Springer.
Escabi MA, Read HL, Viventi J, Kim DH, Higgins NC, Storace DA, Liu AS, Gifford AM, Burke JF, Campisi M, Kim YS, Avrin AE, Van der Spiegel J, Huang Y, Li M, Wu J, Rogers JA, Litt B, Cohen YE. (2014). A high-density, high-channel count, multiplexed uECoG array for auditory-cortex recordings. Journal of Neurophysiology. Sep 15;112(6):1566-83.
Storace DA, Higgins NC, Chikar JA, Oliver DL, Read HL. (2012) Gene expression identifies distinct ascending glutamatergic pathways to frequency-organized auditory cortex in the rat brain. Journal of Neuroscience. Nov 7;32(45):15759-68.
Storace DA, Higgins NC, Read HL. (2011) Thalamocortical pathway specialization for sound frequency resolution. Journal of Comparative Neurology. Feb 1;519(2):177-93. Featured on cover.
Higgins NC, Storace DA, Escabi MA, Read HL. (2010) Specialization of binaural response properties in ventral auditory cortices. Journal of Neuroscience. Oct 27;30(43):14522-32. Featured on cover.
Storace DA, Higgins NC, Read HL. (2010) Thalamic label patterns suggest primary and ventral auditory fields are core regions. Journal of Comparative Neurology. May 15;518(10):1630-46. Featured on cover.
Polley DB, Read HL, Storace DA, Merzenich MM. (2007) Multiparametric auditory receptive field organization across five cortical fields in the albino rat. Journal of Neurophysiology. May;97(5):3621-38.