Artin Arshamian receives a grant from Riksbankens Jubileumfond for a project on how valence is coded in the sense of smell
How is valence coded in the sense of smell? The neural mechanisms behind why one likes or dislikes a smell.
The sense of smell's primary function is to judge whether an odor smells good or bad (ie determine the valence of the odor). This enables us to make important decisions about approaching or avoiding the smell (eg avoiding rotten food).
Due to limitations in noninvasive brain imaging techniques, almost nothing is known about how the initial olfactory system encodes odor valence.
In this project, new techniques will be used that will make it possible to investigate this for the first time in humans.
Exploring the mechanisms of odor valence is necessary to understand the most basic principle of the sense of smell. Today we have much more knowledge about how perception works in vision and hearing. This project aims to establish a similar level of knowledge for the sense of smell.