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Brain Sciences
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Plasticity and Regeneration in the Olfactory System
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Plasticity and Regeneration in the Olfactory System

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensory and Motor Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 4459

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Claire E. Cheetham

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
Interests: olfactory sensory neurons; olfactory bulb; circuit development, plasticity and regeneration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Olfaction, the sense of smell, is important for the survival of all animals, and its relevance in humans is often underestimated. The olfactory system detects odorants in the environment and processes that information to enable organisms to respond appropriately. There are many conserved principles of olfactory system organization and function across species ranging from nematode worms to humans. A key feature of the olfactory system of many species is that it can support a high level of plasticity, spanning the synaptic, cellular and circuit levels, even in adults. Across many species, the olfactory system also exhibits a substantial regenerative capacity, with postnatal neurogenesis playing an important role in some organisms. This Special Issue will explore the mechanisms by which olfactory plasticity enables rapid learning and adaptation to altered sensory experience without disrupting existing circuit function. It will also provide insight into the roles of postnatal neurogenesis in the healthy olfactory system and the extent to which regenerative processes can restore olfactory function following damage. The Special Issue will bring together studies from multiple species to highlight both common principles and species-specific mechanisms that enable the olfactory system to adapt to changes in activity and experience and to repair damaged circuits, even in adult organisms.

Dr. Claire E. Cheetham
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • olfactory
  • plasticity
  • regeneration
  • neurogenesis

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 11005 KiB  
Article
The Bulb, the Brain and the Being: New Insights into Olfactory System Anatomy, Organization and Connectivity
by Anton Stenwall, Aino-Linnea Uggla, David Weibust, Markus Fahlström, Mats Ryttlefors and Francesco Latini
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(4), 368; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15040368 - 31 Mar 2025
Viewed by 656
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Olfaction is in many ways the least understood sensory modality. Its organization and connectivity are still under debate. The aim of this study was to investigate the anatomy of the olfactory system by using a cadaver fiber dissection technique and in vivo [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Olfaction is in many ways the least understood sensory modality. Its organization and connectivity are still under debate. The aim of this study was to investigate the anatomy of the olfactory system by using a cadaver fiber dissection technique and in vivo tractography to attain a deeper understanding of the subcortical connectivity and organization. Methods: Ten cerebral hemispheres were used in this study for white matter dissection according to Klingler’s technique. Measurements of different cortical structures and interhemispheric symmetry were compared. Diffusion tensor imaging sequences from twenty-five healthy individuals from the Human Connectome Project dataset were used to explore the connectivity of the olfactory system using DSI Studio. White matter connectivity between the following were reconstructed in vivo: (1) Olfactory bulb to primary olfactory cortices; (2) Olfactory bulb to secondary olfactory cortices; (3) Primary to secondary olfactory cortices. The DTI metrics of the identified major associative, projection and commissural pathways were subsequently correlated with olfactory function and cognition in seventy-five healthy individuals with Spearman’s rank correlation and the Benjamini–Hochberg method for false discoveries (CI 95%, p < 0.05) using R. Results: 1. The dissection showed that the lateral stria was significantly longer on the left side and projected towards the amygdala, the entorhinal and piriform cortex. 2. The medial stria was not evident as a consistent white matter structure. 3. Both dissection and tractography showed that major associative white matter pathways such as the uncinate fasciculus, the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and cingulum supported the connectivity between olfactory areas together with the anterior commissure. 4. No significant correlation was found between DTI metrics and sensory or cognition test results. Conclusions: We present the first combined fiber dissection analysis and tractography of the olfactory system. We propose a novel definition where the primary olfactory network is defined by the olfactory tract/bulb and primary olfactory cortices through the lateral stria only. The uncinate fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and cingulum are the associative pathways supporting the connectivity between primary and secondary olfactory areas together with the anterior commissure. We suggest considering these structures as a secondary olfactory network. Further work is needed to attain a deeper understanding of the pathological and physiological implications of the olfactory system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasticity and Regeneration in the Olfactory System)
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Review

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28 pages, 2006 KiB  
Review
The Role of the Stimulus in Olfactory Plasticity
by David M. Coppola and Johannes Reisert
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(11), 1553; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13111553 - 6 Nov 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2842
Abstract
Plasticity, the term we use to describe the ability of a nervous system to change with experience, is the evolutionary adaptation that freed animal behavior from the confines of genetic determinism. This capacity, which increases with brain complexity, is nowhere more evident than [...] Read more.
Plasticity, the term we use to describe the ability of a nervous system to change with experience, is the evolutionary adaptation that freed animal behavior from the confines of genetic determinism. This capacity, which increases with brain complexity, is nowhere more evident than in vertebrates, especially mammals. Though the scientific study of brain plasticity dates back at least to the mid-19th century, the last several decades have seen unprecedented advances in the field afforded by new technologies. Olfaction is one system that has garnered particular attention in this realm because it is the only sensory modality with a lifelong supply of new neurons, from two niches no less! Here, we review some of the classical and contemporary literature dealing with the role of the stimulus or lack thereof in olfactory plasticity. We have restricted our comments to studies in mammals that have used dual tools of the field: stimulus deprivation and stimulus enrichment. The former manipulation has been implemented most frequently by unilateral naris occlusion and, thus, we have limited our comments to research using this technique. The work reviewed on deprivation provides substantial evidence of activity-dependent processes in both developing and adult mammals at multiple levels of the system from olfactory sensory neurons through to olfactory cortical areas. However, more recent evidence on the effects of deprivation also establishes several compensatory processes with mechanisms at every level of the system, whose function seems to be the restoration of information flow in the face of an impoverished signal. The results of sensory enrichment are more tentative, not least because of the actual manipulation: What odor or odors? At what concentrations? On what schedule? All of these have frequently not been sufficiently rationalized or characterized. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that discrepant results are common in sensory enrichment studies. Despite this problem, evidence has accumulated that even passively encountered odors can “teach” olfactory cortical areas to better detect, discriminate, and more efficiently encode them for future encounters. We discuss these and other less-established roles for the stimulus in olfactory plasticity, culminating in our recommended “aspirations” for the field going forward. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasticity and Regeneration in the Olfactory System)
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