Abstract
Olfaction consists of a set of transforms from a physical space of odorant molecules, through a neural space of information processing, and into a perceptual space of smell. Elucidating the rules governing these transforms depends on establishing valid metrics for each of the three spaces. Here we first briefly review the perceptual and neural spaces, and then concentrate on the physical space of odorant molecules. We argue that the lack of an agreed-upon odor metric poses a significant obstacle toward understanding the neurobiology of olfaction, and suggest two alternative odor metrics as possible solutions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 438-444 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Current Opinion in Neurobiology |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Authors RH and NS are supported by an FP7 Ideas Grant 200850 from the European Research Council. Author DH is supported by The John von Neumann Minerva Center for the Development of Reactive Systems of the Weizmann Institute of Science. We thank Arak Elite.
Funding
Authors RH and NS are supported by an FP7 Ideas Grant 200850 from the European Research Council. Author DH is supported by The John von Neumann Minerva Center for the Development of Reactive Systems of the Weizmann Institute of Science. We thank Arak Elite.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| John von Neumann Minerva Center for the Development of Reactive Systems of the Weizmann Institute of Science | |
| Seventh Framework Programme | |
| FP7 Ideas: European Research Council | 200850 |
| European Commission |