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The Impact of Molecular Biological Research on Current Views of Olfactory Coding

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Advances in Chemical Signals in Vertebrates

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Abstract

The past decade has seen groundbreaking work in the molecular biology of olfaction. Results from studies investigating the components of olfactory transduction constitute major advances in olfactory research, elucidating peripheral encoding mechanisms, but also having an impact on our understanding of central olfactory processing. This chapter summarizes some of the findings of molecular biological work in both the main and accessory olfactory systems, raising the issue of how our understanding of olfactory coding has been influenced by the discovery of, and subsequent work with, the putative olfactory receptor genes and downstream molecular events. Projection patterns of different subclasses of receptor neurons characterized by molecular techniques hint at possible processing strategies in both systems. In the main olfactory system, there is now physiological evidence to support the idea of a functional chemotopic map across the glomerular layer of olfactory bulb, as suggested by gene expression patterns. Further functional experiments may verify additional hypotheses on olfactory coding generated by results of studies on the molecular biology of the peripheral olfactory systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02111, USA

    Kathleen M. Dorries

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  1. Kathleen M. Dorries
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Robert E. Johnston

  2. College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York—Syracuse, Syracuse, New York, USA

    Dietland Müller-Schwarze

  3. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Minnesota—St. Paul, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

    Peter W. Sorensen

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Dorries, K.M. (1999). The Impact of Molecular Biological Research on Current Views of Olfactory Coding. In: Johnston, R.E., Müller-Schwarze, D., Sorensen, P.W. (eds) Advances in Chemical Signals in Vertebrates. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4733-4_46

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4733-4_46

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7145-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-4733-4

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