Configural memory of a blending aromatic mixture reflected in activation of the left orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Blending aromatic mixtures components naturally fuse to form a unique odor - a configuration- qualitatively different from each component's odor. Repeated exposure to the components either in the mixture or separately, favors respectively, configural and elemental processings. The neural bases of such processes are still unknown. We examined the brain correlates of the experienced-induced configural processing of a well-known model of binary blending odor mixture, the aromatic pineapple blending (AB, ethyl maltol + ethyl isobutyrate). Before fMRI recording, half of the participants were repeatedly exposed to the mixture (AB, group Gmix), with the other half exposed to its separate components (A and B; Gcomp). During the fMRI recording, all participants were stimulated with the mixture (AB) and the components (A and B). Finally, participants rated the number of odors perceived for each stimulus. Gmix perceived the AB mixture as less complex than did Gcomp. While Gcomp perceived the mixture as more complex than its components, Gmix did not. These results show the presence of experience-induced configural or elemental processing of the AB mixture in each group. Contrasting the brain activity of Gcomp and Gmix, when stimulated with AB, revealed higher activation in the left orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus. This result sheds light on this area's function, commonly found activated in olfactory studies, and closely connected with the lateral orbitofrontal cortex. We discuss the role of this area as a mediator of configural percepts between temporal and orbitofrontal areas involved in configural memory processes.
Details
Original language | English |
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Article number | 113088 |
Pages (from-to) | 113088 |
Journal | Behavioural brain research |
Volume | 402 |
Publication status | Published - 26 Mar 2021 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 85098858356 |
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ORCID | /0000-0001-9713-0183/work/146645528 |
Keywords
Keywords
- Adult, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory/physiology, Odorants, Olfactory Perception/physiology, Prefrontal Cortex/diagnostic imaging, Young Adult