Dissociable Codes of Odor Quality and Odorant Structure in Human Piriform Cortex

Modulation of Higher-Order Olfaction Components on Executive Functions in Humans

The prefrontal (PFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) appear to be associated with both executive functions and olfaction. However, there is little data relating olfactory processing and executive functions in humans. The present study aimed at exploring the role of olfaction on executive functioning, making a distinction between primary and more cognitive aspects of olfaction. Three executive tasks of similar difficulty were used. One was used to assess hot executive functions (Iowa Gambling Task-IGT), and two as a measure of cold executive functioning (Stroop Colour and Word Test-SCWT and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-WCST). Sixty two healthy participants were included: 31 with normosmia and 31 with hyposmia. Olfactory abilities were assessed using the ‘‘Sniffin’ Sticks’’ test and the olfactory threshold, odour discrimination and odour identification measures were obtained. All participants were female, aged between 18 and 60. Results showed that participants with hyposmia displayed worse performance in decision making (IGT; Cohen’s-d = 0.91) and cognitive flexibility (WCST; Cohen’s-d between 0.54 and 0.68) compared to those with normosmia. Multiple regression adjusted by the covariates participants’ age and education level showed a positive association between odour identification and the cognitive inhibition response (SCWT-interference; Beta = 0.29; p = .034). The odour discrimination capacity was not a predictor of the cognitive executive performance. Our results suggest that both hot and cold executive functions seem to be associated with higher-order olfactory functioning in humans. These results robustly support the hypothesis that olfaction and executive measures have a common neural substrate in PFC and OFC, and suggest that olfaction might be a reliable cognitive marker in psychiatric and neurologic disorders.

The muted sense: neurocognitive limitations of olfactory language

Most people find it profoundly difficult to name familiar smells. This difficulty persists even when perceptual odor processing and visual object naming are unimpaired, implying deficient sensory-specific interactions with the language system. Here we synthesize recent behavioral and neuroimaging data to develop a biologically informed framework for olfactory lexical processing in the human brain. Our central premise is that the difficulty in naming common objects through olfactory (compared with visual) stimulation is the end result of cumulative effects occurring at three successive stages of the olfactory language pathway: object perception, lexical-semantic integration, and verbalization. Understanding the neurocognitive mechanisms by which the language network interacts with olfaction can yield unique insights into the elusive nature of olfactory naming.

Identification of character-impact odorants in a cola-flavored carbonated beverage by quantitative analysis and omission studies of aroma reconstitution models

Thirty aroma-active components of a cola-flavored carbonated beverage were quantitated by stable isotope dilution assays, and their odor activity values (OAVs) were calculated. The OAV results revealed that 1,8-cineole, (R)-(-)-linalool, and octanal made the greatest contribution to the overall aroma of the cola. A cola aroma reconstitution model was constructed by adding 20 high-purity standards to an aqueous sucrose-phosphoric acid solution. The results of headspace solid-phase microextraction and sensory analyses were used to adjust the model to better match authentic cola. The rebalanced model was used as a complete model for the omission study. Sensory results indicated that omission of a group consisting of methyleugenol, (E)-cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, and (Z)- and (E)-isoeugenols differed from the complete model, while omission of the individual components of this group did not differ from the complete model. These results indicate that a balance of numerous odorants is responsible for the characteristic aroma of cola-flavored carbonated beverages.

A designated odor-language integration system in the human brain

Odors are surprisingly difficult to name, but the mechanism underlying this phenomenon is poorly understood. In experiments using event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated the physiological basis of odor naming with a paradigm where olfactory and visual object cues were followed by target words that either matched or mismatched the cue. We hypothesized that word processing would not only be affected by its semantic congruency with the preceding cue, but would also depend on the cue modality (olfactory or visual). Performance was slower and less precise when linking a word to its corresponding odor than to its picture. The ERP index of semantic incongruity (N400), reflected in the comparison of nonmatching versus matching target words, was more constrained to posterior electrode sites and lasted longer on odor-cue (vs picture-cue) trials. In parallel, fMRI cross-adaptation in the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL) was observed in response to words when preceded by matching olfactory cues, but not by matching visual cues. Time-series plots demonstrated increased fMRI activity in OFC and ATL at the onset of the odor cue itself, followed by response habituation after processing of a matching (vs nonmatching) target word, suggesting that predictive perceptual representations in these regions are already established before delivery and deliberation of the target word. Together, our findings underscore the modality-specific anatomy and physiology of object identification in the human brain.

Differential modifications of synaptic weights during odor rule learning: dynamics of interaction between the piriform cortex with lower and higher brain areas

Learning of a complex olfactory discrimination (OD) task results in acquisition of rule learning after prolonged training. Previously, we demonstrated enhanced synaptic connectivity between the piriform cortex (PC) and its ascending and descending inputs from the olfactory bulb (OB) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) following OD rule learning. Here, using recordings of evoked field postsynaptic potentials in behaving animals, we examined the dynamics by which these synaptic pathways are modified during rule acquisition. We show profound differences in synaptic connectivity modulation between the 2 input sources. During rule acquisition, the ascending synaptic connectivity from the OB to the anterior and posterior PC is simultaneously enhanced. Furthermore, post-training stimulation of the OB enhanced learning rate dramatically. In sharp contrast, the synaptic input in the descending pathway from the OFC was significantly reduced until training completion. Once rule learning was established, the strength of synaptic connectivity in the 2 pathways resumed its pretraining values. We suggest that acquisition of olfactory rule learning requires a transient enhancement of ascending inputs to the PC, synchronized with a parallel decrease in the descending inputs. This combined short-lived modulation enables the PC network to reorganize in a manner that enables it to first acquire and then maintain the rule.

The piriform cortex and human focal epilepsy

It is surprising that the piriform cortex, when compared to the hippocampus, has been given relatively little significance in human epilepsy. Like the hippocampus, it has a phylogenetically preserved three-layered cortex that is vulnerable to excitotoxic injury, has broad connections to both limbic and cortical areas, and is highly epileptogenic – being critical to the kindling process. The well-known phenomenon of early olfactory auras in temporal lobe epilepsy highlights its clinical relevance in human beings. Perhaps because it is anatomically indistinct and difficult to approach surgically, as it clasps the middle cerebral artery, it has, until now, been understandably neglected. In this review, we emphasize how its unique anatomical and functional properties, as primary olfactory cortex, predispose it to involvement in focal epilepsy. From recent convergent findings in human neuroimaging, clinical epileptology, and experimental animal models, we make the case that the piriform cortex is likely to play a facilitating and amplifying role in human focal epileptogenesis, and may influence progression to epileptic intractability.

Nonsensory target-dependent organization of piriform cortex

The piriform cortex (PCX) is the largest component of the olfactory cortex and is hypothesized to be the locus of odor object formation. The distributed odorant representation found in PCX contrasts sharply with the topographical representation seen in other primary sensory cortices, making it difficult to test this view. Recent work in PCX has focused on functional characteristics of these distributed afferent and association fiber systems. However, information regarding the efferent projections of PCX and how those may be involved in odor representation and object recognition has been largely ignored. To investigate this aspect of PCX, we have used the efferent pathway from mouse PCX to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Using double fluorescent retrograde tracing, we identified the output neurons (OPNs) of the PCX that project to two subdivisions of the OFC, the agranular insula and the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (AI-OPNs and LO-OPNs, respectively). We found that both AI-OPNs and LO-OPNs showed a distinct spatial topography within the PCX and fewer than 10% projected to both the AI and the LO as judged by double-labeling. These data revealed that the efferent component of the PCX may be topographically organized. Further, these data suggest a model for functional organization of the PCX in which the OPNs are grouped into parallel output circuits that provide olfactory information to different higher centers. The distributed afferent input from the olfactory bulb and the local PCX association circuits would then ensure a complete olfactory representation, pattern recognition capability, and neuroplasticity in each efferent circuit.

Expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in the mouse neocortex and posterior piriform cortices during postnatal development

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) functions as a pleiotropic protein, participating in a vast array of cellular and biological processes. Abnormal expression of MIF has been implicated in many neurological diseases, including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, Alzheimer's Disease, stroke, and neuropathic pain. However, the expression patterns of mif transcript and MIF protein from the early postnatal period through adulthood in the mouse brain are still poorly understood. We therefore investigated the temporal and spatial expression of MIF in the mouse neocortex during postnatal development in detail and partially in posterior piriform cortices (pPC). As determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), mif transcript gradually increased during development, with the highest level noted at postnatal day 30 (P30) followed by a sharp decline at P75. In contrast, Western blotting results showed that MIF increased constantly from P7 to P75. The highest level of MIF was at P75, while the lowest level of MIF was at P7. Immunofluorescence histochemistry revealed that MIF-immunoreactive (ir) cells were within the entire depth of the developed neocortex, and MIF was heterogeneously distributed among cortical cells, especially at P7, P14, P30, and P75; MIF was abundant in the pyramidal layer within pPC. Double immunostaining showed that all the mature neurons were MIF-ir and all the intensely stained MIF-ir cells were parvalbumin positive (Pv +) at adult. Moreover, it was demonstrated that MIF protein localized in the perikaryon, processes, presynaptic structures, and the nucleus in neurons. Taken together, the developmentally regulated expression and the subcellular localization of MIF should form a platform for an analysis of MIF neurodevelopmental biology and MIF-related nerve diseases.

The perception of odor objects in everyday life: a review on the processing of odor mixtures

Smelling monomolecular odors hardly ever occurs in everyday life, and the daily functioning of the sense of smell relies primarily on the processing of complex mixtures of volatiles that are present in the environment (e.g., emanating from food or conspecifics). Such processing allows for the instantaneous recognition and categorization of smells and also for the discrimination of odors among others to extract relevant information and to adapt efficiently in different contexts. The neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning this highly efficient analysis of complex mixtures of odorants is beginning to be unraveled and support the idea that olfaction, as vision and audition, relies on odor-objects encoding. This configural processing of odor mixtures, which is empirically subject to important applications in our societies (e.g., the art of perfumers, flavorists, and wine makers), has been scientifically studied only during the last decades. This processing depends on many individual factors, among which are the developmental stage, lifestyle, physiological and mood state, and cognitive skills; this processing also presents striking similarities between species. The present review gathers the recent findings, as observed in animals, healthy subjects, and/or individuals with affective disorders, supporting the perception of complex odor stimuli as odor objects. It also discusses peripheral to central processing, and cognitive and behavioral significance. Finally, this review highlights that the study of odor mixtures is an original window allowing for the investigation of daily olfaction and emphasizes the need for knowledge about the underlying biological processes, which appear to be crucial for our representation and adaptation to the chemical environment.

Olfaction, valuation, and action: reorienting perception

In the philosophy of perception, olfaction is the perennial problem child, presenting a range of difficulties to those seeking to define its proper referents, and its phenomenological content. Here, we argue that many of these difficulties can be resolved by recognizing the object-like representation of odors in the brain, and by postulating that the basic objects of olfaction are best defined by their biological value to the organism, rather than physicochemical dimensions of stimuli. Building on this organism-centered account, we speculate that the phenomenological space of olfaction is organized into a number of coarse affective dimensions that apply categorically. This organization may be especially useful for coupling sensation to decision making and instrumental action in a sensory modality where the stimulus space is especially complex and high dimensional.

Object concepts in the chemical senses

This paper examines the applicability of the object concept to the chemical senses, by evaluating them against a set of criteria for object-hood. Taste and chemesthesis do not generate objects. Their parts, perceptible from birth, never combine. Orthonasal olfaction (sniffing) presents a strong case for generating objects. Odorants have many parts yet they are perceived as wholes, this process is based on learning, and there is figure-ground segregation. While flavors are multimodal representations bound together by learning, there is no functional need for flavor objects in the mouth. Rather, food identification occurs prior to ingestion using the eye and nose, with the latter retrieving multimodal flavor objects via sniffing (e.g., sweet smelling caramel). While there are differences in object perception between vision, audition, and orthonasal olfaction, the commonalities suggest that the brain has adopted the same basic solution when faced with extracting meaning from complex stimulus arrays.

Attention-dependent modulation of cortical taste circuits revealed by Granger causality with signal-dependent noise

We show, for the first time, that in cortical areas, for example the insular, orbitofrontal, and lateral prefrontal cortex, there is signal-dependent noise in the fMRI blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) time series, with the variance of the noise increasing approximately linearly with the square of the signal. Classical Granger causal models are based on autoregressive models with time invariant covariance structure, and thus do not take this signal-dependent noise into account. To address this limitation, here we describe a Granger causal model with signal-dependent noise, and a novel, likelihood ratio test for causal inferences. We apply this approach to the data from an fMRI study to investigate the source of the top-down attentional control of taste intensity and taste pleasantness processing. The Granger causality with signal-dependent noise analysis reveals effects not identified by classical Granger causal analysis. In particular, there is a top-down effect from the posterior lateral prefrontal cortex to the insular taste cortex during attention to intensity but not to pleasantness, and there is a top-down effect from the anterior and posterior lateral prefrontal cortex to the orbitofrontal cortex during attention to pleasantness but not to intensity. In addition, there is stronger forward effective connectivity from the insular taste cortex to the orbitofrontal cortex during attention to pleasantness than during attention to intensity. These findings indicate the importance of explicitly modeling signal-dependent noise in functional neuroimaging, and reveal some of the processes involved in a biased activation theory of selective attention.

We show that in cortical areas such as the insular, orbitofrontal, and lateral prefrontal cortex, the variation of the blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) time series across trials measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) increases with the magnitude of the signal. We describe a new method of measuring causal effects with Granger causality that takes into account this signal-dependent noise. We show in a functional neuroimaging investigation with the new method that there is a causal influence from the anterior lateral prefrontal cortex that during attention to the pleasantness of taste stimuli increases the response of the orbitofrontal cortex to the taste; and there is a causal influence from the posterior lateral prefrontal cortex to the insular taste cortex during attention to the intensity of taste stimuli. This shows how part of the circuitry involved in the effects of selective attention on the pleasantness and intensity of stimuli operates in the brain.

Brain responses to odor mixtures with sub-threshold components

Although most odorants we encounter in daily life are mixtures of several chemical substances, we still lack significant information on how we perceive and how the brain processes mixtures of odorants. We aimed to investigate the processing of odor mixtures using behavioral measures and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The odor mixture contained a target odor (ambroxan) in a concentration at which it could be perceived by half of the subjects (sensitive group); the other half could not perceive the odor (insensitive group). In line with previous findings on multi-component odor mixtures, both groups of subjects were not able to distinguish a complex odor mixture containing or not containing the target odor. However, sensitive subjects had stronger activations than insensitive subjects in chemosensory processing areas such as the insula when exposed to the mixture containing the target odor. Furthermore, the sensitive group exhibited larger brain activations when presented with the odor mixture containing the target odor compared to the odor mixture without the target odor; this difference was smaller, though present for the insensitive group. In conclusion, we show that a target odor presented within a mixture of odors can influence brain activations although on a psychophysical level subjects are not able to distinguish the mixture with and without the target. On the practical side these results suggest that the addition of a certain compound to a mixture of odors may not be detected on a cognitive level; however, this additional odor may significantly change the cerebral processing of this mixture. In this context, FMRI offers unique possibilities to look at the subliminal effects of odors.

Effects of odor on emotion, with implications

The sense of smell is found widely in the animal kingdom. Human and animal studies show that odor perception is modulated by experience and/or physiological state (such as hunger), and that some odors can arouse emotion, and can lead to the recall of emotional memories. Further, odors can influence psychological and physiological states. Individual odorants are mapped via gene-specified receptors to corresponding glomeruli in the olfactory bulb, which directly projects to the piriform cortex and the amygdala without a thalamic relay. The odors to which a glomerulus responds reflect the chemical structure of the odorant. The piriform cortex and the amygdala both project to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) which with the amygdala is involved in emotion and associative learning, and to the entorhinal/hippocampal system which is involved in long-term memory including episodic memory. Evidence that some odors can modulate emotion and cognition is described, and the possible implications for the treatment of psychological problems, for example in reducing the effects of stress, are considered.

High and low roads to odor valence? A choice response-time study

Valence and edibility are two important features of olfactory perception, but it remains unclear how they are read out from an olfactory input. For a given odor object (e.g., the smell of rose or garlic), does perceptual identification of that object necessarily precede retrieval of information about its valence and edibility, or alternatively, are these processes independent? In the present study, we studied rapid, binary perceptual decisions regarding odor detection, object identity, valence, and edibility for a set of common odors. We found that decisions regarding odor-object identity were faster than decisions regarding odor valence or edibility, but slower than detection. Mediation analysis revealed that odor valence and edibility decision response times were predicted by a model in which odor-object identity served as a mediator along the perceptual pathway from detection to both valence and edibility. According to this model, odor valence is determined through both a "low road" that bypasses odor objects and a "high road" that utilizes odor-object information. Edibility evaluations are constrained to processing via the high road. The results outline a novel causal framework that explains how major perceptual features might be rapidly extracted from odors through engagement of odor objects early in the processing stream.

Networks involved in olfaction and their dynamics using independent component analysis and unified structural equation modeling

The study of human olfaction is complicated by the myriad of processing demands in conscious perceptual and emotional experiences of odors. Combining functional magnetic resonance imaging with convergent multivariate network analyses, we examined the spatiotemporal behavior of olfactory-generated blood-oxygenated-level-dependent signal in healthy adults. The experimental functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm was found to offset the limitations of olfactory habituation effects and permitted the identification of five functional networks. Analysis delineated separable neuronal circuits that were spatially centered in the primary olfactory cortex, striatum, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, rostral prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate, and parietal-occipital junction. We hypothesize that these functional networks subserve primary perceptual, affective/motivational, and higher order olfactory-related cognitive processes. Results provided direct evidence for the existence of parallel networks with top-down modulation for olfactory processing and clearly distinguished brain activations that were sniffing-related versus odor-related. A comprehensive neurocognitive model for olfaction is presented that may be applied to broader translational studies of olfactory function, aging, and neurological disease.

Neurons and circuits for odor processing in the piriform cortex

Increased understanding of the early stages of olfaction has lead to a renewed interest in the higher brain regions responsible for forming unified 'odor images' from the chemical components detected by the nose. The piriform cortex, which is one of the first cortical destinations of olfactory information in mammals, is a primitive paleocortex that is critical for the synthetic perception of odors. Here we review recent work that examines the cellular neurophysiology of the piriform cortex. Exciting new findings have revealed how the neurons and circuits of the piriform cortex process odor information, demonstrating that, despite its superficial simplicity, the piriform cortex is a remarkably subtle and intricate neural circuit.

Effect of aging on hedonic appreciation of pleasant and unpleasant odors

Does hedonic appreciation evolve differently for pleasant odors and unpleasant odors during normal aging? To answer this question we combined psychophysics and electro-encephalographic recordings in young and old adults. A first study showed that pleasant odorants (but not unpleasant ones) were rated as less pleasant by old adults. A second study validated this decrease in hedonic appreciation for agreeable odors and further showed that smelling these odorants decreased beta event-related synchronization in aged participants. In conclusion, the study offers new insights into the evolution of odor hedonic perception during normal aging, highlighting for the first time a change in processing pleasant odors.

Olfactory perception, cognition, and dysfunction in humans

The main functions of olfaction relate to finding food, avoiding predators and disease, and social communication. Its role in detecting food has resulted in a unique dual mode sensory system. Environmental odorants are 'smelled' via the external nostrils, while volatile chemicals in food-detected by the same receptors-arrive via the nasopharynx, contributing to flavor. This arrangement allows the brain to link the consequences of eating with a food's odor, and then later to use this information in the search for food. Recognizing an odorant-a food, mate, or predator-requires the detection of complex chemical blends against a noisy chemical background. The brain solves this problem in two ways. First, by rapid adaptation to background odorants so that new odorants stand out. Second, by pattern matching the neural representation of an odorant to prior olfactory experiences. This account is consistent with olfactory sensory physiology, anatomy, and psychology. Odor perception, and its products, may be subject to further processing-olfactory cognition. While olfactory cognition has features in common with visual or auditory cognition, several aspects are unique, and even those that are common may be instantiated in different ways. These differences can be productively used to evaluate the generality of models of cognition and consciousness. Finally, the olfactory system can breakdown, and this may be predictive of the onset of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's, as well as having prognostic value in other disorders such as schizophrenia. WIREs Cogn Sci 2013, 4:273-284. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1224 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Temporal integration of olfactory perceptual evidence in human orbitofrontal cortex

Given a noisy sensory world, the nervous system integrates perceptual evidence over time to optimize decision-making. Neurophysiological accumulation of sensory information is well-documented in the animal visual system, but how such mechanisms are instantiated in the human brain remains poorly understood. Here we combined psychophysical techniques, drift-diffusion modeling, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to establish that odor evidence integration in the human olfactory system enhances discrimination on a two-alternative forced-choice task. Model-based measures of fMRI brain activity highlighted a ramp-like increase in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) that peaked at the time of decision, conforming to predictions derived from an integrator model. Combined behavioral and fMRI data further suggest that decision bounds are not fixed but collapse over time, facilitating choice behavior in the presence of low-quality evidence. These data highlight a key role for the orbitofrontal cortex in resolving sensory uncertainty and provide substantiation for accumulator models of human perceptual decision-making.

Dual processing streams in chemosensory perception

Higher order sensory processing follows a general subdivision into a ventral and a dorsal stream for visual, auditory, and tactile information. Object identification is processed in temporal structures (ventral stream), whereas object localization leads to activation of parietal structures (dorsal stream). To examine whether the chemical senses demonstrate a similar dissociation, we investigated odor identification and odor localization in 16 healthy young subjects using functional MRI. We used two odors—(1) eucalyptol; (2) a mixture of phenylethanol and carbon dioxide)—which were delivered to only one nostril. During odor identification subjects had to recognize the odor; during odor localization they had to detect the stimulated nostril. We used general linear model (GLM) as a classical method as well as independent component analysis (ICA) in order to investigate a possible neuroanatomical dissociation between both tasks. Both methods showed differences between tasks—confirming a dual processing stream in the chemical senses—but revealed complementary results. Specifically, GLM identified the left intraparietal sulcus and the right superior frontal sulcus to be more activated when subjects were localizing the odorants. For the same task, ICA identified a significant cluster in the left parietal lobe (paracentral lobule) but also in the right hippocampus. While GLM did not find significant activations for odor identification, ICA revealed two clusters (in the left central fissure and the left superior frontal gyrus) for this task. These data demonstrate that higher order chemosensory processing shares the general subdivision into a ventral and a dorsal processing stream with other sensory systems and suggest that this is a global principle, independent of sensory channels.

Evaluation of olfactory dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases

It is known that the olfactory dysfunction is involved in various neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease and motor neuron disease. In particular, the ability to identify and discriminate the odors, as well as the odor threshold, can be altered in these disorders. These changes often occur as early manifestation of the pathology and they are not always diagnosed on time. The aim of this review is to summarize the major neurological diseases which are preceded or accompanied by olfactory dysfunction. In addition, new instrumental approaches, such as psychophysical testing, olfactory event-related potentials (OERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements, supported by olfactometer for the stimuli delivery, and their combination in evaluation of olfactory function will be discussed. In particular, OERPs and fMRI might to be good candidates to become useful additional tools in clinical protocols for early diagnosis of neurological diseases.

Input-specific excitation of olfactory cortex microcircuits

Every higher-order association cortex receives a variety of synaptic signals from different regions of the brain. How these cortical networks are capable of differentially responding to these various extrinsic synaptic inputs remains unclear. To address this issue, we studied how the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the anterior piriform cortex (aPC) were functionally connected to the association olfactory cortex, the posterior piriform cortex (pPC). We infected the BLA and aPC with adeno-associated virus expressing channelrhodopsin-2-Venus fusion protein (ChR2-AAV) and recorded the excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSC) resulting from photostimulation of either BLA or aPC axons in the major classes of excitatory and inhibitory neurons of the pPC. We found that BLA and aPC axons evoked monosynaptic EPSCs in every type of pPC neuron, but each fiber system preferentially targeted one excitatory and one inhibitory neuronal subtype. BLA fibers were most strongly connected to deep pyramidal cells (DP) and fast-spiking interneurons (FS), while aPC axons formed the strongest synaptic connections with DPs and irregular-spiking interneurons (IR). Overall, our findings show that the pPC differentially responds to amygdaloid versus cortical inputs by utilizing distinct local microcircuits, each defined by one predominant interneuronal subtype: FS for the BLA and IR for the aPC. It would thus seem that preferential excitation of a single neuronal class could be sufficient for the pPC to generate unique electrophysiological outputs in response to divergent synaptic input sources.

Olfaction in Parkinson's disease and related disorders

Olfactory dysfunction is an early 'pre-clinical' sign of Parkinson's disease (PD). The present review is a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of such dysfunction in PD and related disorders. The olfactory bulb is implicated in the dysfunction, since only those syndromes with olfactory bulb pathology exhibit significant smell loss. The role of dopamine in the production of olfactory system pathology is enigmatic, as overexpression of dopaminergic cells within the bulb's glomerular layer is a common feature of PD and most animal models of PD. Damage to cholinergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic systems is likely involved, since such damage is most marked in those diseases with the most smell loss. When compromised, these systems, which regulate microglial activity, can influence the induction of localized brain inflammation, oxidative damage, and cytosolic disruption of cellular processes. In monogenetic forms of PD, olfactory dysfunction is rarely observed in asymptomatic gene carriers, but is present in many of those that exhibit the motor phenotype. This suggests that such gene-related influences on olfaction, when present, take time to develop and depend upon additional factors, such as those from aging, other genes, formation of α-synuclein- and tau-related pathology, or lowered thresholds to oxidative stress from toxic insults. The limited data available suggest that the physiological determinants of the early changes in PD-related olfactory function are likely multifactorial and may include the same determinants as those responsible for a number of other non-motor symptoms of PD, such as dysautonomia and sleep disturbances.

Odour perception following bilateral damage to the olfactory bulbs: a possible case of blind smell

INTRODUCTION

Unconsciously detected chemicals may affect human behaviour (Kirk-Smith et al., 1983; Stern and McClintock, 1998; Zucco et al., 2009), likeability judgements (Li et al., 2007) and brain activity (Lorig et al., 1990; Sobel et al., 1999). No studies, however, have investigated blind smell - the hypothetical olfactory counterpart of blindsight (Weiskrantz et al., 1974).

METHODS

In this report, free and cued olfactory identification of suprathreshold odorants varying in irritancy (i.e., low or no irritant odours versus irritant odours), and taste identification abilities, were examined in patient MB who had undergone surgery for a meningioma. Post-operative imaging revealed encephalomalacia in the left gyrus rectus, with ablation of the left olfactory bulb and damage to the right, subcortical abnormality on the left near the orbital cortex, and damage to a small section of the right gyrus rectus.

RESULTS

On free identification MB, while denying a capacity to smell the odours, still correctly identified some and detected others significantly above chance. In contrast, awareness always accompanied correct detections of irritant odours. Cued odour identification was at chance and no taste impairments were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

We suggest, tentatively, that MB's unusual pattern of awareness when detecting and identifying odours relative to irritant odours may represent an example of 'blind smell'.

Smell and taste disorders

Smell and taste disorders can markedly affect the quality of life. In recent years we have become much better in the assessment of the ability to smell and taste. In addition, information is now available to say something about the prognosis of individual patients. With regard to therapy there also seems to be low but steady progress. Of special importance for the treatment is the ability of the olfactory epithelium to regenerate.

Optophysiological analysis of associational circuits in the olfactory cortex

Primary olfactory cortical areas receive direct input from the olfactory bulb, but also have extensive associational connections that have been mainly studied with classical anatomical methods. Here, we shed light on the functional properties of associational connections in the anterior and posterior piriform cortices (aPC and pPC) using optophysiological methods. We found that the aPC receives dense functional connections from the anterior olfactory nucleus (AON), a major hub in olfactory cortical circuits. The local recurrent connectivity within the aPC, long invoked in cortical autoassociative models, is sparse and weak. By contrast, the pPC receives negligible input from the AON, but has dense connections from the aPC as well as more local recurrent connections than the aPC. Finally, there are negligible functional connections from the pPC to aPC. Our study provides a circuit basis for a more sensory role for the aPC in odor processing and an associative role for the pPC.

Parallel odor processing by two anatomically distinct olfactory bulb target structures

The olfactory cortex encompasses several anatomically distinct regions each hypothesized to provide differential representation and processing of specific odors. Studies exploring whether or not the diversity of olfactory bulb input to olfactory cortices has functional meaning, however, are lacking. Here we tested whether two anatomically major olfactory cortical structures, the olfactory tubercle (OT) and piriform cortex (PCX), differ in their neural representation and processing dynamics of a small set of diverse odors by performing in vivo extracellular recordings from the OT and PCX of anesthetized mice. We found a wealth of similarities between structures, including odor-evoked response magnitudes, breadth of odor tuning, and odor-evoked firing latencies. In contrast, only few differences between structures were found, including spontaneous activity rates and odor signal-to-noise ratios. These results suggest that despite major anatomical differences in innervation by olfactory bulb mitral/tufted cells, the basic features of odor representation and processing, at least within this limited odor set, are similar within the OT and PCX. We predict that the olfactory code follows a distributed processing stream in transmitting behaviorally and perceptually-relevant information from low-level stations.

Reduced mating success of female tortricid moths following intense pheromone auto-exposure varies with sophistication of mating system

Mating disruption is a valuable tool for the management of pest lepidopteran species in many agricultural crops. Many studies have addressed the effect of female pheromone on the ability of males to find calling females but, so far, fewer have addressed the effect of pheromone on the mating behavior of females. We hypothesized that mating of female moth species may be adversely affected following sex pheromone auto-exposure, due to abnormal behavioral activity and/or antennal sensitivity. Our results indicate that, for Grapholita molesta and Pandemis pyrusana females, copulation, but not calling, was reduced following pre-exposure to sex pheromone. In contrast, for Cydia pomonella and Choristoneura rosaceana, sex pheromone pre-exposure did not affect either calling or copulation propensity. Adaptation of female moth antennae to their own sex pheromone, following sex pheromone auto-exposure, as measured by electroantennograms, occurred in a species for which identical exposure reduced mating success (G. molesta) and in a species for which such exposure did not affect mating success (C. rosaceana). These results suggest that pre-exposure of female moths of certain species to sex pheromone may further contribute to the success of pheromone-based mating disruption. Therefore, we conclude that, in some species, mating disruption may include a secondary mechanism that affects the mating behavior of female moths, in addition to that of males.

The value of identity: olfactory notes on orbitofrontal cortex function

Neuroscientific research has emphatically promoted the idea that the key function of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is to encode value. Associative learning studies indicate that OFC representations of stimulus cues reflect the predictive value of expected outcomes. Neuroeconomic studies suggest that the OFC distills abstract representations of value from discrete commodities to optimize choice. Although value-based models provide good explanatory power for many different findings, these models are typically disconnected from the very stimuli and commodities giving rise to those value representations. Little provision is made, either theoretically or empirically, for the necessary cooperative role of object identity, without which value becomes orphaned from its source. As a step toward remediating the value of identity, this review provides a focused olfactory survey of OFC research, including new work from our lab, to highlight the elemental involvement of this region in stimulus-specific predictive coding of both perceptual outcomes and expected values.

Olfactory predictive codes and stimulus templates in piriform cortex

Neuroscientific models of sensory perception suggest that the brain utilizes predictive codes in advance of a stimulus encounter, enabling organisms to infer forthcoming sensory events. However, it is poorly understood how such mechanisms are implemented in the olfactory system. Combining high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging with multivariate (pattern-based) analyses, we examined the spatiotemporal evolution of odor perception in the human brain during an olfactory search task. Ensemble activity patterns in anterior piriform cortex (APC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) reflected the attended odor target both before and after stimulus onset. In contrast, prestimulus ensemble representations of the odor target in posterior piriform cortex (PPC) gave way to poststimulus representations of the odor itself. Critically, the robustness of target-related patterns in PPC predicted subsequent behavioral performance. Our findings directly show that the brain generates predictive templates or "search images" in PPC, with physical correspondence to odor-specific pattern representations, to augment olfactory perception.

Cortical processing of odor objects

Natural odors, generally composed of many monomolecular components, are analyzed by peripheral receptors into component features and translated into spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity in the olfactory bulb. Here, we will discuss the role of the olfactory cortex in the recognition, separation and completion of those odor-evoked patterns, and how these processes contribute to odor perception. Recent findings regarding the neural architecture, physiology, and plasticity of the olfactory cortex, principally the piriform cortex, will be described in the context of how this paleocortical structure creates odor objects.

Olfactory perception as a compass for olfactory neural maps

The mammalian brain commonly uses structural proximity to reflect proximity in stimulus and perceptual space. Objects or object features that are near each other in physical structure or perception are also near each other in the brain. This generates sensory maps. The topography of olfactory connectivity implies a rudimentary map in the olfactory epithelium, a more intricate map in the olfactory bulb, but no ordered topography is evident in piriform cortex. Currently, we are largely unable to link the ordered topography in epithelium and bulb to meaningful olfactory axes within a strong predictive framework. We argue that the path to uncovering such a predictive framework depends on systematically characterizing olfactory perception, and we describe initial efforts in this direction.

Neural activity at the human olfactory epithelium reflects olfactory perception

Organization of receptive surfaces reflects primary axes of perception. In vision, retinal coordinates reflect spatial coordinates. In audition, cochlear coordinates reflect tonal coordinates. However, the rules underlying the organization of the olfactory receptive surface are unknown. To test the hypothesis that organization of the olfactory epithelium reflects olfactory perception, we inserted an electrode into the human olfactory epithelium to directly measure odorant-induced evoked responses. We found that pairwise differences in odorant pleasantness predicted pairwise differences in response magnitude; that is, a location that responded maximally to a pleasant odorant was likely to respond strongly to other pleasant odorants, and a location that responded maximally to an unpleasant odorant was likely to respond strongly to other unpleasant odorants. Moreover, the extent of an individual's perceptual span predicted their span in evoked response. This suggests that, similarly to receptor surfaces for vision and audition, organization of the olfactory receptor surface reflects key axes of perception.

Componential Granger causality, and its application to identifying the source and mechanisms of the top-down biased activation that controls attention to affective vs sensory processing

We describe a new measure of Granger causality, componential Granger causality, and show how it can be applied to the identification of the directionality of influences between brain areas with functional neuroimaging data. Componential Granger causality measures the effect of y on x, but allows interaction effects between y and x to be measured. In addition, the terms in componential Granger causality sum to 1, allowing causal effects to be directly compared between systems. We show using componential Granger causality analysis applied to an fMRI investigation that there is a top-down attentional effect from the anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to the orbitofrontal cortex when attention is paid to the pleasantness of a taste, and that this effect depends on the activity in the orbitofrontal cortex as shown by the interaction term. Correspondingly there is a top-down attentional effect from the posterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to the insular primary taste cortex when attention is paid to the intensity of a taste, and this effect depends on the activity of the insular primary taste cortex as shown by the interaction term. Componential Granger causality thus not only can reveal the directionality of effects between areas (and these can be bidirectional), but also allows the mechanisms to be understood in terms of whether the causal influence of one system on another depends on the state of the system being causally influenced. Componential Granger causality measures the full effects of second order statistics by including variance and covariance effects between each time series, thus allowing interaction effects to be measured, and also provides a systematic framework within which to measure the effects of cross, self, and noise contributions to causality. The findings reveal some of the mechanisms involved in a biased activation theory of selective attention.

Experience induces functional reorganization in brain regions involved in odor imagery in perfumers

Areas of expertise that cultivate specific sensory domains reveal the brain's ability to adapt to environmental change. Perfumers are a small population who claim to have a unique ability to generate olfactory mental images. To evaluate the impact of this expertise on the brain regions involved in odor processing, we measured brain activity in novice and experienced (student and professional) perfumers while they smelled or imagined odors. We demonstrate that olfactory imagery activates the primary olfactory (piriform) cortex (PC) in all perfumers, demonstrating that similar neural substrates were activated in odor perception and imagination. In professional perfumers, extensive olfactory practice influences the posterior PC, the orbitofrontal cortex, and the hippocampus; during the creation of mental images of odors, the activity in these areas was negatively correlated with experience. Thus, the perfumers' expertise is associated with a functional reorganization of key olfactory and memory brain regions, explaining their extraordinary ability to imagine odors and create fragrances.

Central Processing of the Chemical Senses: an Overview

Our knowledge regarding the neural processing of the three chemical senses has been lagging behind that of our other senses considerably. It is only during the last 25 years that significant advances have been made in our understanding of where in the human brain odors, tastants, and trigeminal stimuli are processed. Here we provide an overview of the current knowledge of how the human brain processes chemical stimuli based on findings in neuroimaging studies using positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Additionally, we provide new insights from recent meta-analyses, based on all published neuroimaging studies of the chemical senses, of where the chemical senses converge in the brain.

Right orbitofrontal cortex mediates conscious olfactory perception

Understanding how the human brain translates sensory impressions into conscious percepts is a key challenge of neuroscience research. Work in this area has overwhelmingly centered on the conscious experience of vision at the exclusion of the other senses--in particular, smell. We hypothesized that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a central substrate for olfactory conscious experience because of its privileged physiological role in odor processing. Combining functional magnetic resonance imaging, peripheral autonomic recordings, and olfactory psychophysics, we studied a case of complete anosmia (smell loss) in a patient with circumscribed traumatic brain injury to the right OFC. Despite a complete absence of conscious olfaction, the patient exhibited robust "blind smell," as indexed by reliable odor-evoked neural activity in the left OFC and normal autonomic responses to odor hedonics during presentation of stimuli to the left nostril. These data highlight the right OFC's critical role in subserving human olfactory consciousness.

Functional roles of distributed synaptic clusters in the mitral-granule cell network of the olfactory bulb

Odors are encoded in spatio-temporal patterns within the olfactory bulb, but the mechanisms of odor recognition and discrimination are poorly understood. It is reasonable to postulate that the olfactory code is sculpted by lateral and feedforward inhibition mediated by granule cells onto the mitral cells. Recent viral tracing and physiological studies revealed patterns of distributed granule cell synaptic clusters that provided additional clues to the possible mechanisms at the network level. The emerging properties and functional roles of these patterns, however, are unknown. Here, using a realistic model of 5 mitral and 100 granule cells we show how their synaptic network can dynamically self-organize and interact through an activity-dependent dendrodendritic mechanism. The results suggest that the patterns of distributed mitral–granule cell connectivity may represent the most recent history of odor inputs, and may contribute to the basic processes underlying mixture perception and odor qualities. The model predicts how and why the dynamical interactions between the active mitral cells through the granule cell synaptic clusters can account for a variety of puzzling behavioral results on odor mixtures and on the emergence of synthetic or analytic perception.

Attentional Modulation of Affective Versus Sensory Processing: Functional Connectivity and a Top-Down Biased Activation Theory of Selective Attention

Top-down selective attention to the affective properties of taste stimuli increases activation to the taste stimuli in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and pregenual cingulate cortex (PGC), and selective attention to the intensity of the stimuli increases the activation in the insular taste cortex, but the origin of the top-down attentional biases is not known. Using psychophysiological interaction connectivity analyses, we showed that in the anterior lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) at Y = 53 mm the correlation with activity in OFC and PGC seed regions was greater when attention was to pleasantness compared with when attention was to intensity. Conversely, we showed that in a more posterior region of the LPFC at Y = 34 the correlation with activity in the anterior insula seed region was greater when attention was to intensity compared with when attention was to pleasantness. We also showed that correlations between areas in these separate processing streams were dependent on selective attention to affective value versus physical intensity of the stimulus. We then propose a biased activation theory of selective attention to account for the findings and contrast this with a biased competition theory of selective attention.

Disruption of odour quality coding in piriform cortex mediates olfactory deficits in Alzheimer's disease

Patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease exhibit perceptual deficits in odour identification, often before the appearance of overt memory loss. This impairment coincides with the initial accumulation of pathological lesions in limbic olfactory brain regions. Although these data imply that odour stimuli may be effectively used as biological probes of limbic dysfunction, the precise neural mechanisms underlying the olfactory deficits in early Alzheimer's disease remain poorly understood. In the current study, we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging with an olfactory cross-adaptation paradigm to test the hypothesis that perceptual codes of odour quality in posterior piriform cortex are degraded in patients with Alzheimer's disease. In elderly control subjects, sequential presentation of qualitatively similar (versus qualitatively different) odourant pairs elicited cross-adapting responses in posterior piriform cortex, in accord with the pattern observed in healthy young adults. However, this profile was significantly blunted in patients with Alzheimer's disease, reflecting a functional disruption of odour quality coding in this olfactory brain area. These results highlight the potential of olfactory functional magnetic resonance imaging as a non-invasive bioassay of limbic functional integrity, and suggest that such an index could possibly aid in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, as a putative lesion model of odour quality processing in the human brain, our study suggests a causal role of posterior piriform cortex in differentiating olfactory objects.

Central mechanisms of odour object perception

The stimulus complexity of naturally occurring odours presents unique challenges for central nervous systems that are aiming to internalize the external olfactory landscape. One mechanism by which the brain encodes perceptual representations of behaviourally relevant smells is through the synthesis of different olfactory inputs into a unified perceptual experience--an odour object. Recent evidence indicates that the identification, categorization and discrimination of olfactory stimuli rely on the formation and modulation of odour objects in the piriform cortex. Convergent findings from human and rodent models suggest that distributed piriform ensemble patterns of olfactory qualities and categories are crucial for maintaining the perceptual constancy of ecologically inconstant stimuli.