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Olfactory Computation in Antennal Lobe and Mushroom Bodies

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Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience

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Definition

The olfactory system maps complex and high dimensional stimuli (odors) into unique and reproducible dynamic ensembles of neuronal activity. In the insect, olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) synapse onto a smaller group of excitatory projection neurons (PNs) and inhibitory local neurons (LNs) in the antennal lobe (AL) (Fig. 1). The odor information is then transferred to the mushroom body (MB), a structure analogous to the olfactory cortex and where olfactory memories are formed. Inhibitory circuits of the AL and the MB shape the odor representation as it progresses through the olfactory system. The insect system is advantageous for studying and modeling olfactory coding because it is relatively simple and amenable to genetic manipulation.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Information flow in the insect olfactory system. Olfactory receptor (OR) neurons in the antenna provide simply-structured input to the antennal lobe (AL). There, projection neurons (PNs) and local neurons (LNs) interact in part...

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Acknowledgements

Supported by grant R01DC012943 from NIDCD and an NICHD intramural award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Dr. Maxim Bazhenov

  2. NICHD, National Institutes of Health, 35 Lincoln Drive, MSC 3715, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Prof. Mark Stopfer

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  1. Dr. Maxim Bazhenov
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  2. Prof. Mark Stopfer
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Correspondence to Maxim Bazhenov .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Dieter Jaeger

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA

    Ranu Jung

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Bazhenov, M., Stopfer, M. (2013). Olfactory Computation in Antennal Lobe and Mushroom Bodies. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_612-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_612-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6

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