Internal representations of the olfactory world

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Internal representations of the olfactory world Olfactory perception is initiated by the recognition of odorants by a large repertoire of receptors in the sensory epithelium. A dispersed pattern of neural activity in the nose is converted into a segregated map in the olfactory bulb. In mice, as well as flies, projections from the olfactory bulb (antennal lobe) extend to multiple, higher order processing centers in the brain. We have identified a spatially invariant, dimorphic circuit responsive to pheromones that dictates components of sexually dimorphic courtship behavior in Drosophila. We have also asked how the representation in the bulb is transformed at the next processing center for olfactory information in the mouse, the piriform cortex. Optical imaging of odor responses in the cortex of the mouse reveals that the piriform discards spatial segregation as well as chemotopy and returns to a highly distributed organization in which different odors activate unique but dispersed ensembles of cortical neurons. Neurons in piriform cortex, responsive to a given odorant, are not only distributed without apparent spatial preference but exhibit discontinuous receptive fields. This representation suggests organizational principles that differ from those in neocortical sensory areas where cells responsive to similar stimulus features are clustered and response properties vary smoothly across the cortex. Conference: Computational and systems neuroscience 2009, Salt Lake City, UT, United States, 26 Feb - 3 Mar, 2009. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation Topic: Oral Presentations Citation: (2009). Internal representations of the olfactory world. Front. Syst. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: Computational and systems neuroscience 2009. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.06.2009.03.221 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 03 Feb 2009; Published Online: 03 Feb 2009. Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Google Google Scholar PubMed Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.