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Spatial coding of enantiomers in the rat olfactory bulb

Nature Neuroscience volume 4, pages 355–356 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Because of their unique properties, enantiomers (pairs of mirror-symmetric, nonsuperimposable molecules that differ only in optical activity and their interaction with other chiral molecules) have been instrumental in demonstrating that olfactory perception relies on molecular shape. To investigate how molecular structure is encoded by the olfactory system, we combined behavioral discrimination tasks with optical imaging of intrinsic signals. We found that rats can behaviorally discriminate members of a wide range of enantiomer pairs, and imaging revealed enantiomer-selective glomeruli in the olfactory bulb, indicating that the spatial pattern of glomerular activity provides sufficient information to discriminate molecular shape.

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Figure 1: Rats can discriminate between members of enantiomer pairs.
Figure 2: Enantiomers activate distinct patterns of glomeruli on the dorsal surface of the rat olfactory bulb.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Fitzpatrick, D. Katz, R. Mooney and S. Simon for discussions and comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, 27710, North Carolina, USA

    Benjamin D. Rubin & Lawrence C. Katz

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  1. Benjamin D. Rubin
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  2. Lawrence C. Katz
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Correspondence to Benjamin D. Rubin.

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Rubin, B., Katz, L. Spatial coding of enantiomers in the rat olfactory bulb. Nat Neurosci 4, 355–356 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/85997

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