Santa Fe Institute

Working Group

August 04, 2012 - August 19, 2012

Vijay Balasubrimanian (Physics, University of Pennsylvania), Liqun Luo (Biology, Stanford), and Chuck Stevens (The Salk Institute) came to SFI for two weeks in August to survey the current state of knowledge about the mammalian olfactory system and to identify approaches to increase our understanding of how this system works. Knowledge about olfaction has greatly increased over the last decade, but some of the most fundamental aspects of olfactory system structure and function remain mysterious.

            Our discussions focused on the mapping of olfactory information from the olfactory bulb to the anterior piriform cortex (the first two main processing centers in the brain), how this information is processed by the cortical neurons that receive direct input from the bulb, and on the organization of the outputs from the information processing circuits in the piriform cortex. We explored a variety of new ways to attack these issues including comparative neuroanatomy, advanced molecular biological methods for marking neurons that have been more active than average, and computational methods to gain insights into cortical circuit function. We plan to continue our collaborations initiated this summer throughout the following year.

SFI Host: Chuck Stevens

• * SFI community lectures are free, open, & accessible to the public.
• * Seminars & colloquia are geared for scientists but free & open to the interested public.
• * All other SFI events are by invitation only.
• * Note: We are unable to accommodate members of the public for SFI's limited lunch service; you're welcome to bring your own.