Written by a neurobiologist and a psychologist, this volume
presents a new theory of olfactory perception. Drawing on research
in neuroscience, physiology, and ethology, Donald A. Wilson and
Richard J. Stevenson address the fundamental question of how we
navigate through a world of chemical encounters and provide a
compelling alternative to the "reception-centric" view of
olfaction.
The major research challenge in olfaction is determining how the
brain discriminates one smell from another. Here, the authors hold
that olfaction is generally not a simple physiochemical process,
but rather a plastic process that is strongly tied to memory. They
find the traditional approach -- which involves identifying how
particular features of a chemical stimulus are represented in the
olfactory system -- to be at odds with historical data and with a
growing body of neurobiological and psychological evidence that
places primary emphasis on synthetic processing and experiential
factors.
Wilson and Stevenson propose that experience and cortical
plasticity not only are important for traditional associative
olfactory memory but also play a critical, defining role in odor
perception and that current views are insufficient to account for
current and past data.
The book includes a broad comparative overview of the structure
and function of olfactory systems, an exploration into the
mechanisms of odor detection and olfactory perception, and a
discussion of the implications of the authors' theory. Learning to
Smell will serve as an important reference for workers within the
field of chemical senses and those interested in sensory processing
and perception.
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