Different olfactory cortical regions are thought to harbor distinct sensory representations, enabling each area to play a unique role in odor perception and behavior. In the piriform cortex (PCx), spatially dispersed sensory inputs evoke activity in distributed ensembles of neurons that act as substrates for odor learning. In contrast, the posterolateral cortical amygdala (plCoA) receives hardw...

Odor stimuli in the natural environment are intermittent and the concentration of any given odor fluctuates rapidly over time. Further, even in the simplest scenario, the olfactory sensors receive uncorrelated, intermittent inputs in the form of odor plumes arising from several odor sources in the local environment. However, typically used odor stimuli under laboratory settings are restricted t...

The odor localization strategy induced by odors learned via differential conditioning of the proboscis extension response was investigated in honeybees. In response to reward-associated but not non-reward-associated odors, learners walked longer paths than non-learners and control bees. When orange odor reward association was learned, the path length and the body turn angles were small during o...

Despite widespread interest in the evolutionary implications of human olfactory communication, the mechanisms underlying human odor production are still poorly understood. Previous studies have demonstrated that human odor cues are related to variations in the major histocompatibility complex, but it is unclear whether odors are associated with overall genotypic variation. In this study, we inv...

In order to explore the odor interaction of binary odor mixtures, a series of odor intensity evaluation tests were performed using both individual components and binary mixtures of aldehydes. Based on the linear relation between the logarithm of odor activity value and odor intensity of individual substances, the relationship between concentrations of individual constituents and their joint odo...

PURPOSE Odor annoyance is an important environmental stressor for neighboring residents of livestock farms and may affect their quality of life and health. However, little is known about the relation between odor exposure due to livestock farming and odor annoyance. Even more, the relation between odor exposure and odor annoyance is rather complicated due to variable responses among individuals...

Rat pups must learn maternal odor to support attachment behaviors, including nursing and orientation toward the mother. Neonates have a sensitive period for rapid, robust odor learning characterized by increased ability to learn odor preferences and decreased ability to learn odor aversions. Specifically, odor-0.5 mA shock association paradoxically causes an odor preference and coincident failu...

Both scientists and artists have suggested that sleep facilitates creativity, and this idea has received substantial empirical support. In the current study, we investigate whether one can actively enhance the beneficial effect of sleep on creativity by covertly reactivating the creativity task during sleep. Individuals' creative performance was compared after three different conditions: sleep-...

People appear to have systematic associations between odors and colors. Previous research has emphasized the perceptual nature of these associations, but little attention has been paid to what role language might play. It is possible odor-color associations arise through a process of labeling; that is, participants select a descriptor for an odor and then choose a color accordingly (e.g., banan...

The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the insular cortex (IC) represent two major areas for odor-taste associations, i.e. flavor integration. This learning may require the development of convergent odor and taste neuronal activation allowing the memory representation of such association. Yet identification of neurons that respond to such coincident input and the effect of flavor experience on odor...