title: Neural representations of novel objects associated with olfactory experience.
abstract: Object conceptual knowledge comprises information related to several motor and sensory modalities (e.g. for tools, how they look like, how to manipulate them). Whether and to which extent conceptual object knowledge is represented in the same sensory and motor systems recruited during object-specific learning experience is still a controversial question. A direct approach to assess the experience-dependence of conceptual object representations is based on training with novel objects. The present study extended previous research, which focused mainly on the role of manipulation experience for tool-like stimuli, by considering sensory experience only. Specifically, we examined the impact of experience in the non-dominant olfactory modality on the neural representation of novel objects. Sixteen healthy participants visually explored a set of novel objects during the training phase while for each object an odor (e.g., peppermint) was presented (olfactory-visual training). As control conditions, a second set of objects was only visually explored (visual-only training), and a third set was not part of the training. In a post-training fMRI session, participants performed an old/new task with pictures of objects associated with olfactory-visual and visual-only training (old) and no training objects (new). Although we did not find any evidence of activations in primary olfactory areas, the processing of olfactory-visual versus visual-only training objects elicited greater activation in the right anterior hippocampus, a region included in the extended olfactory network. This finding is discussed in terms of different functional roles of the hippocampus in olfactory processes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätstrasse, 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany. Electronic address: Marta.Ghio@hhu.de.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghio
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätstrasse, 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: patrick.schulze@rub.de.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schulze
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätstrasse, 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: boris.suchan@ruhr-uni-bochum.de.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Suchan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätstrasse, 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany. Electronic address: Christian.Bellebaum@hhu.de.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bellebaum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Learning; Object knowledge; Semantic memory; fMRI