Is the olfactory bulb computationally similar to the retina?
The computational role of the olfactory bulb remains a mystery after 60 yr of physiological research. Recently, Fantana and colleagues proposed a new model of bulb function based on sparse inhibitory connections between glomeruli, the functional units of the bulb, rather than the existing lateral inhibition model. I present a summary of their model here and its implications along with comparison to recent work in the very similar Drosophila olfactory system.
Ghatpande
Ambarish S
AS
Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. aghatpande@monell.org
D000818:Animals; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000502:physiology; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009812:Odorants; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000502:physiology*; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000502:physiology