Crossmodal Associative Memory Representations in Rodent Orbitofrontal Cortex

Firing patterns of neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OF) were analyzed in rats trained to perform a task that encouraged incidental associations between distinct odors and the places where their occurrence was detected. Many of the neurons fired differentially when the animals were at a particular location or sampled particular odors. Furthermore, a substantial fraction of the cells exhibited odor-specific firing patterns prior to odor presentation, when the animal arrived at a location associated with that odor. These findings suggest that neurons in the OF encode cross-modal associations between odors and locations within long-term memory.