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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae
Published on: February 18, 2013
An intrinsic association between olfactory identification and spatial memory in humans
Louisa Dahmani1, Raihaan M Patel1, Yiling Yang1
1Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada.
Abstract:
It was recently proposed that olfaction evolved to aid navigation. Consistent with this hypothesis, olfactory identification and spatial memory are linked to overlapping brain areas which include the orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus. However, the relationship between these two processes has never been specifically investigated. Here, we show that olfactory identification covaries with spatial memory in humans. We also found that the cortical thickness of the left medial orbitofrontal cortex, and the volume of the right hippocampus, predict both olfactory identification and spatial memory. Finally, we demonstrate deficits in both olfactory identification and spatial memory in patients with lesions of the medial orbitofrontal cortex. Our findings reveal an intrinsic relationship between olfaction and spatial memory that is supported by a shared reliance on the hippocampus and medial orbitofrontal cortex. This relationship may find its roots in the parallel evolution of the olfactory and hippocampal systems.
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