Synaptic Connectivity and Electrophysiological Properties of the Nucleus of the Lateral Olfactory Tract.

The sense of smell is tightly linked to emotions, a link that is thought to rely on the direct synaptic connections between the olfactory bulb (OB) and nuclei of the amygdala. However, there are multiple pathways projecting olfactory information to the amygdala, and their unique functions are unknown. The pathway via the nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract (NLOT) that receives input from olfactory regions and projects to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is among them.

Mixture Coding and Segmentation in the Anterior Piriform Cortex.

Coding of odorous stimuli has been mostly studied using single isolated stimuli. However, a single sniff of air in a natural environment is likely to introduce airborne chemicals emitted by multiple objects into the nose. The olfactory system is therefore faced with the task of segmenting odor mixtures to identify objects in the presence of rich and often unpredictable backgrounds.