Speed-Accuracy Tradeoff in Olfaction
Abstract
The basic psychophysical principle of speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) has been used to understand key aspects of neuronal information processing in vision and audition, but the principle of SAT is still debated in olfaction. In this study we present the direct observation of SAT in olfaction. We developed a behavioral paradigm for mice in which both the duration of odorant sampling and the difficulty of the odor discrimination task were controlled by the experimenter. We observed that the accuracy of odor discrimination increases with the duration of imposed odorant sampling, and that the rate of this increase is slower for harder tasks. We also present a unifying picture of two previous, seemingly disparate experiments on timing of odorant sampling in odor discrimination tasks. The presence of SAT in olfaction provides strong evidence for temporal integration in olfaction and puts a constraint on models of olfactory processing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 02, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA459510
Entities
People
- Alan Gelperin
- Alexel Koulakov
- Dmitry Rinberg
Organizations
- Monell Chemical Senses Center