| Title: | Biological complexity and adaptability of simple mammalian olfactory memory systems |
| Address: | "School of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. Sub-Department of Animal Behaviour, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: ebk10@cam.ac.uk" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.10.020 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1873-7528 (Electronic) 0149-7634 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Chemosensory systems play vital roles in the lives of most mammals, including the detection and identification of predators, as well as sex and reproductive status and the identification of individual conspecifics. All of these capabilities require a process of recognition involving a combination of innate (kairomonal/pheromonal) and learned responses. Across very different phylogenies, the mechanisms for pheromonal and odour learning have much in common. They are frequently associated with plasticity of GABA-ergic feedback at the initial level of processing the chemosensory information, which enhances its pattern separation capability. Association of odourant features into an odour object primarily involves anterior piriform cortex for non-social odours. However, the medial amygdala appears to be involved in both the recognition of social odours and their association with chemosensory information sensed by the vomeronasal system. Unusually not only the sensory neurons themselves, but also the GABA-ergic interneurons in the olfactory bulb are continually being replaced, with implications for the induction and maintenance of learned chemosensory responses" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Brain/*physiology Chemoreceptor Cells/physiology GABAergic Neurons/physiology Humans Interneurons/physiology Learning/physiology Memory/*physiology Neurogenesis Odorants Olfactory Perception/*physiology Pheromones/physiology Recognition, Psycholog;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineBrennan, P Keverne, E B eng Review 2014/12/03 Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2015 Mar; 50:29-40. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.10.020. Epub 2014 Oct 31" |
