The stimulus complexity of naturally occurring odours presents unique challenges for central
nervous systems that are aiming to internalize the external olfactory landscape. One …

Natural odors, generally composed of many monomolecular components, are analyzed by
peripheral receptors into component features and translated into spatiotemporal patterns of …

Neurons in piriform cortex receive input from a random collection of glomeruli, resulting in
odor representations that lack the stereotypic organization of the olfactory bulb. We have …

Highlights•Odor information is encoded in the distributed activity of piriform cortex
neurons.•Piriform uses complementary coding strategies to represent odor identity and …

Piriform cortical circuits are hypothesized to form perceptions from responses to specific
odorant features, but the anterior piriform cortex (aPCX) and posterior piriform cortex (pPCX) …

Olfactory perception is initiated by the recognition of odorants by a large repertoire of
receptors in the sensory epithelium. A dispersed pattern of neural activity in the nose is …

Current models of odor discrimination in mammals involve molecular feature detection by a
large family of diverse olfactory receptors, refinement of molecular feature extraction through …

Highlights•The glomerular organization in the mammalian olfactory bulb is differentially
transformed in higher-order olfactory areas.•The microcircuitry of the piriform cortex enables …

The relationship between odorant structure and odor quality has been a focus of olfactory
research for 100 years, although no systematic correlations are yet apparent. Animal studies …

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 …