Orbit Spectral Density in Olfactory Signal Processing
Orbit Spectral Density in Olfactory Signal Processing
Spiking frequency of neurons in the mammalian olfactory epithelium is modulated by the concentrations of basic odorant molecules. A mix of several millimols of basic odorants, such as isoamyl acetate, limonene, or camphor, dispersed in Megaliters of air constitutes an olfactory stimulant perceived by the brain as a scent. The epithelium communicates the olfactory information by adjusting interspike intervals in neural signals. The overall interspike interval distribution encodes the information in myriads of neural spikings. A much-compacted representation of the information is the orbit spectral density derived from the spiking distribution.