Better learning through distinguishing
— A study published in the latest issue of Nature Neuroscience describes work led by the University of Geneva’s (UNIGE) Faculties of Medicine and Sciences, on the indisputable role of the olfactory bulb in mammal brains’ ability to discriminate between smells. This research has verified the importance of a very active neural network, which cuts, prunes, and models the sequence of electrical impulses that result from information transmitted by the nose. Although the interpretation needed to distinguish between different smells takes place in the cortex, this step is greatly facilitated by the work done by the bulb neurons who put together the information to be read. From a behavioral perspective this concerns the learning process since the brain is better at learning and recalling what it can clearly differentiate.
