Experts at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology had set out to investigate further the brain processes of olfactory information.
In their study released in eLife, the research team unraveled similarities between the human olfactory system and that of insects.
“In this study, we traced physiologically identified medial-tract projection neurons from each of the three male-specific glomeruli with the aim of mapping their terminal branches in the lateral protocerebrum,” according to the study’s authors.
“Our data suggest that the neurons’ widespread projections are organized according to behavioral significance, including a spatial separation of signals representing attraction versus inhibition – however, with a unique capacity of switching behavioral consequence based on the amount of the minor components.”
The study was authored by Jonas Hansen Kymre, XiaoLan Liu, Elena Ian, Christoffer Nerland Berge, GuiRong Wang, Bente Gunnveig Berg, XinCheng Zhao, and Xi Chu.
