Lateralized Frontal-to-Temporal Cross-Frequency Coupling in Cortical Processing of Pleasant Odors

Odor Pleasantness Modulates Functional Connectivity in the Olfactory Hedonic Processing Network

Olfactory hedonic evaluation is the primary dimension of olfactory perception and thus central to our sense of smell. It involves complex interactions between brain regions associated with sensory, affective and reward processing. Despite a recent increase in interest, several aspects of olfactory hedonic evaluation remain ambiguous: uncertainty surrounds the communication between, and interaction among, brain areas during hedonic evaluation of olfactory stimuli with different levels of pleasantness, as well as the corresponding supporting oscillatory mechanisms. In our study we investigated changes in functional interactions among brain areas in response to odor stimuli using electroencephalography (EEG). To this goal, functional connectivity networks were estimated based on phase synchronization between EEG signals using the weighted phase lag index (wPLI). Graph theoretic metrics were subsequently used to quantify the resulting changes in functional connectivity of relevant brain regions involved in olfactory hedonic evaluation. Our results indicate that odor stimuli of different hedonic values evoke significantly different interaction patterns among brain regions within the olfactory cortex, as well as in the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortices. Furthermore, significant hemispheric laterality effects have been observed in the prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices, specifically in the beta ((13–30) Hz) and gamma ((30–40) Hz) frequency bands.

Multilayer Network Framework Reveals Cross-Frequency Coupling Hubs in Cortical Olfactory Perception

Olfactory perception is shaped by dynamic in-teractions among networks of widely distributed brain regions involved in several neurocognitive processes. However, the neural mechanisms that enable effective coordination and integrative processing across these brain regions, which have different functions and operating characteristics, are not yet fully understood. In this study we use electroencephalography (EEG) signals and a multilayer network formalism to model cross-frequency coupling across the brain and identify brain regions that operate as connecting hubs, thus facilitating inte-grative function. To this goal, we investigate α-γ coupling and θ-γ coupling during exposure to olfactory stimuli of different pleasantness levels. We found that a wider distributed network of hubs emerges in the higher pleasantness condition and that significant differences in the hub connectivity are located in the middle frontal and central regions. Our results indicate the consistent functional role that γ band activity plays in information integration in olfactory perception.