A truffle in the mouth is worth two in the bush: odor localization in the human brain.
It is widely thought that locating the source of a smell is an ability best left to nonhuman members of the animal kingdom. In this issue of Neuron, two complementary articles highlight the neural mechanisms underlying the localization of an odor, either to the left or right side of the nose (Porter et al.) or to the inside or outside of the mouth (Small et al.). Together, these studies validate the idea that the human brain is equipped with the apparatus necessary to pinpoint the location of an odor source.
Gottfried
Jay A
JA
Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Department of Neurology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Il 60611, USA.
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009055:Mouth / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D009831:Olfactory Mucosa / Q000502:physiology*; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*