Human olfaction: odour coding and cross-modal concept representation in single olfactory cortex neurons

Abstract

In a recent study published in Nature, Kehl et al.¹ demonstrate that single neurons in humans specifically respond to the smell of different odours and encode stimulus properties, such as odour identity and valence. Surprisingly, a subpopulation of odour-modulated neurons in the piriform cortex (PC) and amygdala also responds to odour-related images and texts, suggesting cross-modal conceptual representations.