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My thesis will focus on the contribution of the dual nostril configuration to olfaction. I have been addressing this topic from two angles, first, the dual nostril contribution to spatial abilities in olfaction and second the dual nostril contribution to non-spatial abilities. Under the first aim I have conducted an fMRI study in humans, published this August (2005) in Neuron, probing the neural mechanisms for extracting spatial information from smell. We found nostril specific receptive fields in human primary olfactory cortex, suggesting that binaral comparisons could subserve a spatial calculation in olfaction. Secondly we found distinct higher processing networks that were preferentially activated when subjects were engaged in either a spatial or a non-spatial task. The spatial regions corresponded with brain regions previously implicated as having a role in multi-modal spatial integration. The next project I am working on under this aim is an investigation of human scent tracking abilities.

I am also just starting to do some psychophysical tests of odor detection thresholds to test the hypothesis (first suggested by my adviser in 1999) that each nostril sends a slightly different olfactory image to the brain. Under this theory we would predict detection thresholds to certain odors to vary between the nostrils based on the air flow rate in the nostril. I have begun developing a computational model based on this putative tuning which suggests that bilateral signal integration in olfaction should lead to increase dynamic range of the olfactory system.

• Zelano C, Bensafi M, Porter J, et al.. "Attentional modulation in human primary olfactory cortex." Nature Neuroscience 8 (1): 114-120 Jan 2005.
• Porter J, Anand T, et al. "Brain mechanisms for extracting spatial information from smell." Neuron (47) 581-592, Aug 18 2005.
• Bensafi M, Porter J, et al "Olfactomotor activity during imagery mimics that during perception." Nat Neurosci. 2003 Nov;6(11):1142-4. Epub 2003 Oct 19.