Learning to Smell

<p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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. <i>Learning to Smell</i> will serve as an important reference for workers within the field of chemical senses and those interested in sensory processing and perception.</p>