Behavioral readout of spatio-temporal codes in olfaction

Neural recordings performed at an increasing scale and resolution have revealed complex, spatio-temporally precise patterns of activity in the olfactory system. Multiple models may explain the functional consequences of the spatio-temporal olfactory code, but the link to behavior remains unclear. Recent evidence in the field suggests a behavioral sensitivity to both fine spatial and temporal features in the code. How these features and combinations of features give rise to olfactory behavior is the subject of active research in the field. Modern genetic and optogenetic methods show great promise in testing the link between olfactory codes and behavior.