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Related Concept Videos

Olfaction01:25

Olfaction

47.9K
The sense of smell is achieved through the activities of the olfactory system. It starts when an airborne odorant enters the nasal cavity and reaches olfactory epithelium (OE). The OE is protected by a thin layer of mucus, which also serves the purpose of dissolving more complex compounds into simpler chemical odorants. The size of the OE and the density of sensory neurons varies among species; in humans, the OE is only about 9-10 cm2.
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
47.9K

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Controlled Odor Mimic Permeation Systems for Olfactory Training and Field Testing
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Odor span task in dogs (Canis familiaris).

Sarah Krichbaum1, Bart Rogers2, Emma Cox3

  • 1Department of Psychology, Auburn University, 226 Thach Hall, Auburn, 36849 AL, USA. szk0138@auburn.edu.

Animal Cognition
|February 27, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Domestic dogs successfully learned the odor span task (OST), demonstrating working memory capacity for up to 72 distinct odors. This study provides a novel canine model for investigating olfactory working memory.

Keywords:
DogNon-match-to-sampleOdor span taskWorking memory

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Animal Behavior
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Working memory is crucial for survival and environmental adaptation.
  • Non-human models are vital for understanding working memory's neural basis and predictive value.
  • The odor span task (OST) has been used in rodents to study working memory.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To establish the first odor span task (OST) in domestic dogs.
  • To assess canine working memory capacity for olfactory stimuli.
  • To explore the effect of intervening trials on odor memory recall in dogs.

Main Methods:

  • Six domestic dogs were trained on an incrementing non-match-to-sample odor span task.
  • Dogs were presented with novel (S+) and previously encountered (S-) odors, with reinforcement for choosing the S+.
  • Performance was evaluated with set sizes up to 72 odors and analyzed based on intervening trials.

Main Results:

  • All dogs successfully learned the OST, achieving over 79% accuracy with 72 odors.
  • Dogs maintained above-chance performance even with up to eight intervening trials since the last encounter of a previously presented odor.
  • This indicates a significant capacity for olfactory working memory in dogs.

Conclusions:

  • Domestic dogs can be reliably trained on the odor span task, serving as a viable model for working memory research.
  • The findings highlight dogs' substantial working memory for odors, comparable to other species.
  • This research opens avenues for further investigation into the cognitive and neural mechanisms of canine working memory.