title: Multidimensional representation of odors in the human olfactory cortex.
abstract: What is known as an odor object is an integrated representation constructed from physical features, and perceptual attributes mainly mediated by the olfactory and trigeminal systems. The aim of the present study was to comprehend how this multidimensional representation is organized, by deciphering how similarities in the physical, olfactory and trigeminal perceptual spaces of odors are represented in the human brain. To achieve this aim, we combined psychophysics, functional MRI and multivariate representational similarity analysis. Participants were asked to smell odors diffused by an fMRI-compatible olfactometer and to rate each smell along olfactory dimensions (pleasantness, intensity, familiarity and edibility) and trigeminal dimensions (irritation, coolness, warmth and pain). An event-related design was implemented, presenting different odorants. Results revealed that (i) pairwise odorant similarities in anterior piriform cortex (PC) activity correlated with pairwise odorant similarities in chemical properties (P < 0.005), (ii) similarities in posterior PC activity correlated with similarities in olfactory perceptual properties (P <0.01), and (iii) similarities in amygdala activity correlated with similarities in trigeminal perceptual properties (P < 0.01). These findings provide new evidence that extraction of physical, olfactory and trigeminal features is based on specific fine processing of similarities between odorous stimuli in a distributed manner in the olfactory system. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2161-2172, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, University Lyon, F-69000, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fournel
authors.affiliation: Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, University Lyon, F-69000, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferdenzi
authors.affiliation: Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, University Lyon, F-69000, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sezille
authors.affiliation: Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, University Lyon, F-69000, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rouby
authors.affiliation: Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, University Lyon, F-69000, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bensafi
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009812:Odorants; D066194:Olfactory Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D011601:Psychophysics; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: amygdala; mental representation; piriform; similarity; smell; trigeminal