Olfactory information processing in the brain: Encoding chemical and temporal features of odors

Thomas A. Christensen, Thomas Heinbockel, John G. Hildebrand

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

66 Scopus citations

Abstract

A fundamental problem in studying the neural mechanisms of odor recognition and discrimination in the olfactory system lies in determining the features or 'primitives' of an odor stimulus that are analyzed by glomerular circuits at the first level of processing in the brain. Several recent studies support the idea that it is not simply the molecular features of odors that contain important information, but also the intermittent pattern of their presentation to the olfactory epithelium that helps determine the behavioral response to odor.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)82-91
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Neurobiology
Volume30
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1996

Keywords

  • coding
  • intermittency
  • olfaction
  • sensory maps
  • synaptic integration

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

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