This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (17) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Wilson, D. A. Articles by Sullivan, R. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wilson, D. A. Articles by Sullivan, R. M. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Plasticity in the Olfactory System: Lessons for the Neurobiology of Memory

Department of Zoology University of Oklahoma, dwilson{at}ou.edu

A. R. Best

Department of Zoology University of Oklahoma

R. M. Sullivan

Department of Zoology University of Oklahoma

We are rapidly advancing toward an understanding of the molecular events underlying odor transduction, mechanisms of spatiotemporal central odor processing, and neural correlates of olfactory perception and cognition. A thread running through each of these broad components that define olfaction appears to be their dynamic nature. How odors are processed, at both the behavioral and neural level, is heavily dependent on past experience, current environmental context, and internal state. The neural plasticity that allows this dynamic processing is expressed nearly ubiquitously in the olfactory pathway, from olfactory receptor neurons to the higher-order cortex, and includes mechanisms ranging from changes in membrane excitability to changes in synaptic efficacy to neurogenesis and apoptosis. This review will describe recent findings regarding plasticity in the mammalian olfactory system that are believed to have general relevance for understanding the neurobiology of memory.

Key Words: Olfaction • Plasticity • Memory • Learning • Perception

The Neuroscientist, Vol. 10, No. 6, 513-524 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1073858404267048


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. M. Khan, C.-H. Luk, A. Flinker, A. Aggarwal, H. Lapid, R. Haddad, and N. Sobel Predicting Odor Pleasantness from Odorant Structure: Pleasantness as a Reflection of the Physical World J. Neurosci., September 12, 2007; 27(37): 10015 - 10023. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. J. Tyler, G. C. Petzold, S. K. Pal, and V. N. Murthy Experience-Dependent Modification of Primary Sensory Synapses in the Mammalian Olfactory Bulb J. Neurosci., August 29, 2007; 27(35): 9427 - 9438. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Shionoya, S. Moriceau, L. Lunday, C. Miner, T. L. Roth, and R. M. Sullivan Development switch in neural circuitry underlying odor-malaise learning Learn. Mem., November 1, 2006; 13(6): 801 - 808. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. R. Harkema, S. A. Carey, and J. G. Wagner The Nose Revisited: A Brief Review of the Comparative Structure, Function, and Toxicologic Pathology of the Nasal Epithelium Toxicol Pathol, April 1, 2006; 34(3): 252 - 269. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. Yadon and D. A. Wilson The role of metabotropic glutamate receptors and cortical adaptation in habituation of odor-guided behavior Learn. Mem., November 1, 2005; 12(6): 601 - 605. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. A. Cleland and C. Linster Computation in the Olfactory System Chem Senses, November 1, 2005; 30(9): 801 - 813. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]