Groundbreaking Discovery in Human Olfactory Processing

In a remarkable new study, researchers from University Hospital Bonn, the University of Bonn, and RWTH Aachen University have made significant strides in understanding how the human brain processes smells. For the first time, the activity of individual neurons during odor perception was recorded, revealing how specific nerve cells in the brain respond not only to smells but also to corresponding images and even written words. The study, which has been published in the prestigious journal Nature, provides critical insights into the neuronal mechanisms behind human olfactory perception.

Bridging the Gap Between Animal and Human Olfactory Studies

This research fills a long-standing gap between animal and human studies in the field of olfaction. While functional imaging techniques like fMRI have identified brain regions associated with smell, they could not examine the behavior of individual neurons. The team’s work with epilepsy patients at the University Hospital Bonn, who had diagnostic electrodes implanted in their brains, allowed them to pinpoint the response of specific neurons to various scents. This breakthrough has opened new avenues for understanding how the brain processes odors at the cellular level.

Multisensory Neuron Response and Implications for Perception

Interestingly, the study also showed that some neurons respond to multiple forms of the same object, such as the smell, image, and written name of a banana. This suggests that the human olfactory cortex plays a much broader role in processing sensory information than previously thought, integrating different sensory inputs to form a cohesive perception. These findings pave the way for deeper insights into how the brain processes complex stimuli and may one day contribute to the development of olfactory aids, similar to hearing aids or glasses.

We extend our congratulations to Florian Mormann, Marc Spehr, and all the authors for this outstanding achievement! It represents not only a milestone in the study of human olfaction but also a testament to the strength of the iBehave network and the productive collaboration between Bonn and Aachen.

For more details, you can access the publication: Marcel S. Kehl et al: Single-Neuron Representations of Odors in the Human Brain; Nature; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08016-5.

Scientific contact:
Prof. Florian Mormann
Cognitive and Clinical Neurophysiology
Clinic for Epileptology
University Hospital Bonn
TRA "Life & Health", University of Bonn
Phone: (+49) 228 287-15738
E-mail: florian.mormann@ukb.uni-bonn .de

Prof Marc Spehr
RWTH Aachen University
Institute for Biology II / Chemosensation Laboratory
2. Sammelbau Biologie
Worringerweg 3
52074 Aachen, Germany
phone: +49 241 8020802
email: m.spehr@sensorik.rwth-aachen.de
web: www.sensorik.rwth-aachen.de

iBehave Contact:
Dr. Sarah Imtiaz
ibehave@uni-bonn.de

Further information:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08016-5