Olfactory-visual associative learning in monkeys depends on intrahemispheric olfactory-visual interaction.
Three Cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fasicularis) learned a series of food-visual conditional discrimination problems. In each problem, 1 of 2 possible food items was presented at the beginning of each trial and acted as an instruction cue as to which of 2 visually distinct stimulus objects the monkey must displace on that trial to obtain a further food reward. Following surgical disconnection of olfactory-visual intrahemispheric interaction, the monkeys were unable to use olfactory properties of the food items to guide visual choices. These results show both that olfactory differences between foodstuffs are a powerful olfactory stimulus, which can enter into cross-modal association with visual stimuli, and that this association depends on an intrahemispheric pathway of olfactory-visual interaction.
Parker
A
A
Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, England, United Kingdom. amanda.parker@psy.ox.ac.uk
Gaffan
D
D
D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D008297:Male; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*