Of course, any study that breaks new ground also raises as many new questions as it answers. Still

to be understood, for instance, is the mechanism of mitral cell synchronization, which has somewhat different properties than that studied previously (Friedrich et al., 2004 and Schoppa, 2006). While adrenergic feedback plays an undisputed role NVP-AUY922 manufacturer in shaping the number of SS emitted in response to particular odors, the way that this happens remains mysterious. It is also unclear whether, when coherently firing neurons are studied in larger ensembles, the observable patterns will become more complicated. Back at our choral concert, the introduction of a third voice adds further richness—atonality, for instance—to the information delivered in the music. Odors come with a richness of properties as well, above and beyond simple “reward-related” or not, which may be reflected only in the coherent firing of larger ensembles. Also intriguing is the fact that coding odors in terms of their reward value does not necessarily imply more effective coding in terms of task performance. SS in trials in

which the trained animal correctly identified RG7204 in vivo an odor as rewarded (hits) did not differ from SS in trials in which the animal failed to respond to a rewarded odor (misses). This result Bumetanide (along with other well-thought-out controls performed by the authors, including contingency reversal tests) satisfactorily eliminates confounding nuisance variables such as reward-related motor behavior as explanations for the phenomenon, but begs the question of why, if bulbar neurons specifically signal that the proffered odor is reward related, the mouse fails to access the reward. It appears that representing the reward

value of an odor may be necessary for correct task performance, but not sufficient; the generation of reward-relevant signals in OB is somehow independent of decision-making circuitry, which may sometimes fail to receive the message or fail to act on the message, depending on as-of-yet mysterious contextual variables. But this is the job of high-quality research—not to simply add to the accretion of facts but to open up new vistas for study with results that surprise and challenge us. To add a new voice to the ongoing composition that changes the way the entirety is perceived. By revealing coding that is intrinsically “meaningful,” Doucette et al. (2011) strike a new chord. “
“Like a sheaf of wiring diagrams that delineate the electrical circuitry of a building, the maps of synaptic connections between neurons are essential for a complete understanding of the inner workings of the brain.