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Science 22 October 1999:
Vol. 286. no. 5440, pp. 723 - 728
DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5440.723
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Review

A Systems Perspective on Early Olfactory Coding

Gilles Laurent

This review critically examines neuronal coding strategies and how they might apply to olfactory processing. Basic notions such as identity, spatial, temporal, and correlation codes are defined and different perspectives are brought to the study of neural codes. Odors as physical stimuli and their processing by the early olfactory system, one or two synapses away from the receptors, are discussed. Finally, the concept of lateral inhibition, as usually understood and applied to odor coding by mitral (or equivalent) cells, is challenged and extended to a broader context, possibly more appropriate for olfactory processing.

Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. E-mail: laurentg{at}its.caltech.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)