Using Olfaction to Study Memory

In a series of studies we have been exploring the role of hippocampal function in memory using the model system of olfactory-hippocampal pathways and odor learning in rats. Our experiments show that hippocampus itself is not essential to memory for single odors, but is critical for forming the representations of relations among odor memories, and for the expression of odor memory representations in novel situations. These studies that exploit the exceptional qualities of olfactory learning are helping to clarify the nature of higher order memory processes in all mammals, and extending to declarative memory in humans.