Large-Scale Neuronal Circuits for Selective Storage and Recognition of Complex Stimuli, a Pilot Study

摘要

The authors have undertaken studies on the nature and behavior of neural circuits based on the known anatomical and physiological characteristics of cortical circuits in rat brain. The authors have focused on olfactory (piriform) cortex, for a number of reasons, including the fact that piriform cortex is phylogenetically old, and significantly simpler than neocortical areas, and that piriform receives its inputs monosynaptically from the olfactory bulb, which in turn receives inputs monosynatically from the nasal epithelium, directly in response to chemical olfactory inputs. This offers an unusual opportunity to study cortical mechanisms operating on inputs that have only minimally been preprocessed, in contrast to the inputs to other cortical areas (even sensory cortical areas) that receive extensive preprocessing before reaching the cortex. Keywords: Nerve transmission.