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Olfaction

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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.
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Using Insect Electroantennogram Sensors on Autonomous Robots for Olfactory Searches

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Olfactory search with finite-state controllers.

Kyrell Vann B Verano^1,2, Emanuele Panizon¹, Antonio Celani¹

¹Quantitative Life Sciences, The Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics, 34151 Trieste, Italy.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|August 14, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Finite-state controllers with discrete memory states can effectively model complex olfactory search behaviors. This approach offers simpler, interpretable algorithms for understanding animal navigation and neural mechanisms.

Keywords:

olfactory search partially observable Markov decision processes reinforcement learning

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Area of Science:

Computational neuroscience
Animal behavior
Algorithm design

Background:

Long-range olfactory search is challenging due to sparse odor signals and complex spatial information encoding.
Existing algorithmic approaches often rely on large, continuous memory spaces, hindering optimization and interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate that finite-state controllers with discrete memory can effectively model complex search behaviors.
To provide an interpretable framework for understanding olfactory search mechanisms.

Main Methods:

Development and optimization of finite-state controllers for olfactory search tasks.
Analysis of the behavioral modules generated by these controllers.

Main Results:

Finite-state controllers with a small set of discrete states exhibit rich, time-extended behavioral modules similar to those in living organisms.
Optimized controllers offer interpretations related to approximate timing (clocks) and spatial mapping.

Conclusions:

Discrete memory systems are sufficient for complex olfactory search.
This framework connects algorithmic approaches to neural models of search behavior, suggesting potential biological relevance.