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Making scents out of how olfactory neurons are ordered in space

Many sensory brain areas are characterized by a specific spatial organization, with neurons being ordered according to their similarity in receptive field properties. A surprising new study provides evidence that the organization of glomeruli in the olfactory bulb violates this anatomical principle, suggesting that olfaction might work by a different set of rules.

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Figure 1: Effect of the lack of chemotopy on lateral inhibition during presentation of a simple odor.

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Schoppa, N. Making scents out of how olfactory neurons are ordered in space. Nat Neurosci 12, 103–104 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0209-103

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