Neural correlates of olfactory working memory in the human brain
Previous research has revealed that the insula, pallidum, thalamus, hippocampus, middle frontal gyrus, and supplementary motor area are activated during odor memory and that the performance of olfactory working memory is affected by the verbalization of odors. However, the neural mechanisms underlyi...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811925000059 |
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| author | Zhuofeng Li Shu-bin Li Shaozhen Tan Lu-lu Liu Chao Yan Lai-quan Zou |
| author_facet | Zhuofeng Li Shu-bin Li Shaozhen Tan Lu-lu Liu Chao Yan Lai-quan Zou |
| author_sort | Zhuofeng Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Previous research has revealed that the insula, pallidum, thalamus, hippocampus, middle frontal gyrus, and supplementary motor area are activated during odor memory and that the performance of olfactory working memory is affected by the verbalization of odors. However, the neural mechanisms underlying olfactory working memory and the role of verbalization in olfactory working memory are not fully understood. Twenty-nine participants were enrolled in a study to complete olfactory and visual n-back tasks using high- and low-verbalizability stimuli while undergoing fMRI imaging. The behavioral results showed that the participants achieved greater accuracy in the visual rather than olfactory n-back task. We observed increased activation in the precentral gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, and inferior parietal gyrus during olfactory working memory. Interestingly, decreased activation was observed in the olfactory 2-back task versus the 0-back task. Moreover, the left angular gyrus and inferior parietal gyrus were more strongly activated during processing of olfactory working memory using high-verbalizability odors. In conclusion, olfactory working memory engages cross-modal regions to facilitate responses, is involved in the monitoring and manipulation of information during working memory, and boasts a unique activation pattern that is different from that of visual working memory. Semantic information supports the representation of odor information in the working memory system. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4afc853216394511a2d4ee8373bef9b0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1095-9572 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage |
| spelling | doaj-art-4afc853216394511a2d4ee8373bef9b02025-01-23T05:26:22ZengElsevierNeuroImage1095-95722025-02-01306121005Neural correlates of olfactory working memory in the human brainZhuofeng Li0Shu-bin Li1Shaozhen Tan2Lu-lu Liu3Chao Yan4Lai-quan Zou5Chemical Senses and Mental Health Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaChemical Senses and Mental Health Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Smell & Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden, GermanySchool of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Guangzhou Social Welfare Institute, Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, ChinaKey Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE&STCSM), Shanghai Changning-ECNU Mental Health Center, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Corresponding author: School of Psychology and Congitive Science, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai, 200062, China.Chemical Senses and Mental Health Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Corresponding author at: Chemical Senses and Mental Health Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, No. 1023 Shatainan Road, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, China.Previous research has revealed that the insula, pallidum, thalamus, hippocampus, middle frontal gyrus, and supplementary motor area are activated during odor memory and that the performance of olfactory working memory is affected by the verbalization of odors. However, the neural mechanisms underlying olfactory working memory and the role of verbalization in olfactory working memory are not fully understood. Twenty-nine participants were enrolled in a study to complete olfactory and visual n-back tasks using high- and low-verbalizability stimuli while undergoing fMRI imaging. The behavioral results showed that the participants achieved greater accuracy in the visual rather than olfactory n-back task. We observed increased activation in the precentral gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, and inferior parietal gyrus during olfactory working memory. Interestingly, decreased activation was observed in the olfactory 2-back task versus the 0-back task. Moreover, the left angular gyrus and inferior parietal gyrus were more strongly activated during processing of olfactory working memory using high-verbalizability odors. In conclusion, olfactory working memory engages cross-modal regions to facilitate responses, is involved in the monitoring and manipulation of information during working memory, and boasts a unique activation pattern that is different from that of visual working memory. Semantic information supports the representation of odor information in the working memory system.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811925000059fMRIOlfactoryWorking memoryVerbalizability |
| spellingShingle | Zhuofeng Li Shu-bin Li Shaozhen Tan Lu-lu Liu Chao Yan Lai-quan Zou Neural correlates of olfactory working memory in the human brain NeuroImage fMRI Olfactory Working memory Verbalizability |
| title | Neural correlates of olfactory working memory in the human brain |
| title_full | Neural correlates of olfactory working memory in the human brain |
| title_fullStr | Neural correlates of olfactory working memory in the human brain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neural correlates of olfactory working memory in the human brain |
| title_short | Neural correlates of olfactory working memory in the human brain |
| title_sort | neural correlates of olfactory working memory in the human brain |
| topic | fMRI Olfactory Working memory Verbalizability |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811925000059 |
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