Article abstract
Nature Neuroscience 12, 932 - 938 (2009)
Published online: 31 May 2009 | doi:10.1038/nn.2324
Odor quality coding and categorization in human posterior piriform cortex
James D Howard1, Jane Plailly2, Marcus Grueschow3,4,5, John-Dylan Haynes3,4 & Jay A Gottfried1,6,7
Abstract
Efficient recognition of odorous objects universally shapes animal behavior and is crucial for survival. To distinguish kin from nonkin, mate from nonmate and food from nonfood, organisms must be able to create meaningful perceptual representations of odor qualities and categories. It is currently unknown where and in what form the brain encodes information about odor quality. By combining functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with multivariate (pattern-based) techniques, we found that spatially distributed ensemble activity in human posterior piriform cortex (PPC) coincides with perceptual ratings of odor quality, such that odorants with more (or less) similar fMRI patterns were perceived as more (or less) alike. We did not observe these effects in anterior piriform cortex, amygdala or orbitofrontal cortex, indicating that ensemble coding of odor categorical perception is regionally specific for PPC. These findings substantiate theoretical models emphasizing the importance of distributed piriform templates for the perceptual reconstruction of odor object quality.
- Cognitive Neurology & Alzheimer's Disease Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences et Systèmes Sensoriels, Université Claude-Bernard Lyon, Lyon, France.
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité–Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Evanston, Illinois, USA.
Correspondence to: Jay A Gottfried1,6,7 e-mail: j-gottfried@northwestern.edu.
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
A noseful of objectsNature Neuroscience News and Views (01 Jul 2009)
A rose by any other nameNature Neuroscience News and Views (01 Dec 2008)
See all 4 matches for News And ViewsRESEARCH
Detection of polyomaviruses and herpesviruses in human adrenal tumorsOncogene Scientific Correspondence
Dissociated neural representations of intensity and valence in human olfactionNature Neuroscience Article (01 Feb 2003)
See all 23 matches for Research
