Acetylcholine and olfactory perceptual learning.
Olfactory perceptual learning is a relatively long-term, learned increase in perceptual acuity, and has been described in both humans and animals. Data from recent electrophysiological studies have indicated that olfactory perceptual learning may be correlated with changes in odorant receptive fields of neurons in the olfactory bulb and piriform cortex. These changes include enhanced representation of the molecular features of familiar odors by mitral cells in the olfactory bulb, and synthetic coding of multiple coincident odorant features into odor objects by cortical neurons. In this paper, data are reviewed that show the critical role of acetylcholine (Ach) in olfactory system function and plasticity, and cholinergic modulation of olfactory perceptual learning at both the behavioral and cortical level.
Wilson
Donald A
DA
Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA. dwilson@ou.edu
Fletcher
Max L
ML
Sullivan
Regina M
RM
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009812:Odorants; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*
D000109:Acetylcholine