Nostril-specific and structure-based olfactory learning of chiral discrimination in human adults
Practice makes perfect. In human olfaction, such plasticity is generally assumed to occur at the level of cortical synthetic processing that shares information from both nostrils. Here we present findings that challenge this view. In two experiments, we trained human adults unirhinally for the discr...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2019-01-01
|
Series: | eLife |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/41296 |
id |
doaj-d1b16220ca2444a59582f6cd44e9c89b |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-d1b16220ca2444a59582f6cd44e9c89b2021-05-05T17:19:42ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2019-01-01810.7554/eLife.41296Nostril-specific and structure-based olfactory learning of chiral discrimination in human adultsGuo Feng0Wen Zhou1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6730-2116State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Psychological Research and Counseling Center, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaPractice makes perfect. In human olfaction, such plasticity is generally assumed to occur at the level of cortical synthetic processing that shares information from both nostrils. Here we present findings that challenge this view. In two experiments, we trained human adults unirhinally for the discrimination between odor enantiomers over a course of about 10 to 11 days. Results showed that training-induced perceptual gain was restricted to the trained nostril yet partially generalized to untrained odor enantiomers in a structure- rather than quality- based manner. In other words, learning enhanced the differentiation of chirality (molecular configuration) as opposed to overall odor quality (odor object) per se. These findings argue that, unlike earlier beliefs, one nostril does not readily know what the other learns. Moreover, the initial analytical processing of the structural features of uninarial olfactory input remains plastic in human adults.https://elifesciences.org/articles/41296olfactory learningchiral discriminationnostril specificitygeneralization |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Guo Feng Wen Zhou |
spellingShingle |
Guo Feng Wen Zhou Nostril-specific and structure-based olfactory learning of chiral discrimination in human adults eLife olfactory learning chiral discrimination nostril specificity generalization |
author_facet |
Guo Feng Wen Zhou |
author_sort |
Guo Feng |
title |
Nostril-specific and structure-based olfactory learning of chiral discrimination in human adults |
title_short |
Nostril-specific and structure-based olfactory learning of chiral discrimination in human adults |
title_full |
Nostril-specific and structure-based olfactory learning of chiral discrimination in human adults |
title_fullStr |
Nostril-specific and structure-based olfactory learning of chiral discrimination in human adults |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nostril-specific and structure-based olfactory learning of chiral discrimination in human adults |
title_sort |
nostril-specific and structure-based olfactory learning of chiral discrimination in human adults |
publisher |
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
series |
eLife |
issn |
2050-084X |
publishDate |
2019-01-01 |
description |
Practice makes perfect. In human olfaction, such plasticity is generally assumed to occur at the level of cortical synthetic processing that shares information from both nostrils. Here we present findings that challenge this view. In two experiments, we trained human adults unirhinally for the discrimination between odor enantiomers over a course of about 10 to 11 days. Results showed that training-induced perceptual gain was restricted to the trained nostril yet partially generalized to untrained odor enantiomers in a structure- rather than quality- based manner. In other words, learning enhanced the differentiation of chirality (molecular configuration) as opposed to overall odor quality (odor object) per se. These findings argue that, unlike earlier beliefs, one nostril does not readily know what the other learns. Moreover, the initial analytical processing of the structural features of uninarial olfactory input remains plastic in human adults. |
topic |
olfactory learning chiral discrimination nostril specificity generalization |
url |
https://elifesciences.org/articles/41296 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT guofeng nostrilspecificandstructurebasedolfactorylearningofchiraldiscriminationinhumanadults AT wenzhou nostrilspecificandstructurebasedolfactorylearningofchiraldiscriminationinhumanadults |
_version_ |
1721459360686669824 |