Barra Beatrice, Pellegrino Robert, Zhao Jacqueline, Danilo Christiane, Streleckis Aiden, Reizis Timothy, Rinberg Dmitry, Mainland Joel D
Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY.
Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
bioRxiv. 2025 Aug 21:2025.08.16.669760. doi: 10.1101/2025.08.16.669760.
Sensory systems translate physical stimuli from the environment-such as light, sound, or chemicals-into signals that the brain can interpret. Across these systems, the amplitude of a stimulus is represented by its perceived intensity. Although previous research has extensively studied how the brain represents physical stimuli, less is known about how it represents perceptual variables such as stimulus intensity. This is primarily due to the difficulty in measuring perceptual responses in animal models, where neural recordings are more accessible. In this study, we use mouse olfaction as a model system to develop a framework for measuring perceived odor intensity. We begin by employing a two-odor concentration classification task to demonstrate that both mice and humans assess stimulus amplitude using a common perceptual scale. We then show that this scale corresponds to intensity. Finally, we apply this method to determine isointense concentrations of different odorants in mice. Our approach offers a powerful tool for testing hypotheses about the neural mechanisms underlying perceived odor intensity, potentially enhancing our understanding of olfactory processing and its neural substrates.
感觉系统将来自环境的物理刺激（如光、声音或化学物质）转化为大脑能够解读的信号。在这些系统中，刺激的幅度由其感知强度来表示。尽管先前的研究广泛探讨了大脑如何表征物理刺激，但对于大脑如何表征诸如刺激强度等感知变量却知之甚少。这主要是由于在动物模型中测量感知反应存在困难，而在动物模型中进行神经记录则更容易。在本研究中，我们以小鼠嗅觉作为模型系统，开发了一个测量感知气味强度的框架。我们首先采用双气味浓度分类任务来证明小鼠和人类都使用共同的感知尺度来评估刺激幅度。然后我们表明这个尺度与强度相对应。最后，我们应用这种方法来确定小鼠中不同气味剂的等强度浓度。我们的方法为测试关于感知气味强度背后神经机制的假设提供了一个强大的工具，有可能增进我们对嗅觉处理及其神经基础的理解。
