The role of piriform associative connections in odor categorization
Distributed neural activity patterns are widely proposed to underlie object identification and categorization in the brain. In the olfactory domain, pattern-based representations of odor objects are encoded in piriform cortex. This region receives both afferent and associative inputs, though their r...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2016-04-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/13732 |
| _version_ | 1811181467923906560 |
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| author | Xiaojun Bao Louise LG Raguet Sydni M Cole James D Howard Jay A Gottfried |
| author_facet | Xiaojun Bao Louise LG Raguet Sydni M Cole James D Howard Jay A Gottfried |
| author_sort | Xiaojun Bao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Distributed neural activity patterns are widely proposed to underlie object identification and categorization in the brain. In the olfactory domain, pattern-based representations of odor objects are encoded in piriform cortex. This region receives both afferent and associative inputs, though their relative contributions to odor perception are poorly understood. Here, we combined a placebo-controlled pharmacological fMRI paradigm with multivariate pattern analyses to test the role of associative connections in sustaining olfactory categorical representations. Administration of baclofen, a GABA(B) agonist known to attenuate piriform associative inputs, interfered with within-category pattern separation in piriform cortex, and the magnitude of this drug-induced change predicted perceptual alterations in fine-odor discrimination performance. Comparatively, baclofen reduced pattern separation between odor categories in orbitofrontal cortex, and impeded within-category generalization in hippocampus. Our findings suggest that odor categorization is a dynamic process concurrently engaging stimulus discrimination and generalization at different stages of olfactory information processing, and highlight the importance of associative networks in maintaining categorical boundaries. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:18:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8df5219d28164c5e9cdadc77e87619e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:18:14Z |
| publishDate | 2016-04-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-8df5219d28164c5e9cdadc77e87619e02022-12-22T04:32:17ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2016-04-01510.7554/eLife.13732The role of piriform associative connections in odor categorizationXiaojun Bao0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8310-4141Louise LG Raguet1Sydni M Cole2James D Howard3Jay A Gottfried4Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, United StatesDepartment of Biology, École Normale Supérieure, Lyon, FranceDepartment of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, United StatesDepartment of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, United StatesDepartment of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, United States; Department of Psychology, Northwestern University Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Evanston, United StatesDistributed neural activity patterns are widely proposed to underlie object identification and categorization in the brain. In the olfactory domain, pattern-based representations of odor objects are encoded in piriform cortex. This region receives both afferent and associative inputs, though their relative contributions to odor perception are poorly understood. Here, we combined a placebo-controlled pharmacological fMRI paradigm with multivariate pattern analyses to test the role of associative connections in sustaining olfactory categorical representations. Administration of baclofen, a GABA(B) agonist known to attenuate piriform associative inputs, interfered with within-category pattern separation in piriform cortex, and the magnitude of this drug-induced change predicted perceptual alterations in fine-odor discrimination performance. Comparatively, baclofen reduced pattern separation between odor categories in orbitofrontal cortex, and impeded within-category generalization in hippocampus. Our findings suggest that odor categorization is a dynamic process concurrently engaging stimulus discrimination and generalization at different stages of olfactory information processing, and highlight the importance of associative networks in maintaining categorical boundaries.https://elifesciences.org/articles/13732functional MRImultivariate pattern analysispiriform cortexGABA(B) receptorbaclofenperceptual categorization |
| spellingShingle | Xiaojun Bao Louise LG Raguet Sydni M Cole James D Howard Jay A Gottfried The role of piriform associative connections in odor categorization eLife functional MRI multivariate pattern analysis piriform cortex GABA(B) receptor baclofen perceptual categorization |
| title | The role of piriform associative connections in odor categorization |
| title_full | The role of piriform associative connections in odor categorization |
| title_fullStr | The role of piriform associative connections in odor categorization |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of piriform associative connections in odor categorization |
| title_short | The role of piriform associative connections in odor categorization |
| title_sort | role of piriform associative connections in odor categorization |
| topic | functional MRI multivariate pattern analysis piriform cortex GABA(B) receptor baclofen perceptual categorization |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/13732 |
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