Neuron
Volume 72, Issue 4, 17 November 2011, Pages 506-519
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Review
Cortical Processing of Odor Objects

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2011.10.027Get rights and content
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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.

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