Rodents can locate food by comparing the relative strength of an odor in their left and right nostrils. Shu Kikuta et al. demonstrate that the anterior olfactory nucleus pars externa in Wister rats translates signals from the animal’s nostrils into spatial information about odors. In these neurons, an ipsilateral odor source induced larger responses than a centrally located source, whereas an odor source at the contralateral position elicited inhibitory responses.

Program member
Kensaku Mori (Department of Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine)

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