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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Electrophysiological Measurements from a Moth Olfactory System
Published on: March 29, 2011
An olfactory sensory map in the fly brain
L B Vosshall1, A M Wong, R Axel
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, USA.
Abstract:
We have isolated the "complete" repertoire of genes encoding the odorant receptors in Drosophila and employ these genes to provide a molecular description of the organization of the peripheral olfactory system. The repertoire of Drosophila odorant receptors is encoded by 57 genes. Individual sensory neurons are likely to express only a single receptor gene. Neurons expressing a given gene project axons to one or two spatially invariant glomeruli in the antennal lobe. The insect brain therefore retains a two-dimensional map of receptor activation such that the quality of an odor may be encoded by different spatial patterns of activity in the antennal lobe.
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