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Peer-reviewedCC BYPLoS Biology

Olfactory bulb-cortex oscillations encode perceived odor intensity rather than concentration

  • Frans Nordén1
  • Irene Zanettin1
  • Mikael Lundqvist1
  • Artin Arshamian1
  • Johan N. Lundström1,2,3
  1. 1Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  2. 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
  3. 3Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America
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Abstract

Perceived stimulus intensity is a core feature of sensory experience, yet how it emerges in the human olfactory system remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that oscillatory dynamics in the human olfactory bulb (OB) and piriform cortex (PC) primarily encode subjective perceived intensity rather than physical concentration. Using noninvasive electrobulbogram recordings, we show that early gamma-band activity in the OB reflects bottom-up transmission of perceived intensity to the PC, which in turn sends top-down beta-band feedback that modulates OB activity via phase-amplitude coupling and transient beta bursts. This bidirectional communication supports a dynamic updating mechanism that maintains perceptual constancy across varying environmental odor concentrations. Our findings reveal a previously uncharacterized oscillatory framework for intensity coding in the human olfactory system, highlighting the primacy of perception over stimulus properties and offering a mechanistic basis for predictive processing in early sensory circuits.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{norden2026olfactory,
  title = {{Olfactory bulb-cortex oscillations encode perceived odor intensity rather than concentration}},
  author = {Frans Nordén and Irene Zanettin and Mikael Lundqvist and Artin Arshamian and Johan N. Lundström},
  journal = {PLoS Biology},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pbio.3003810},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003810},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Olfactory bulb-cortex oscillations encode perceived odor intensity rather than concentration
AU  - Frans Nordén
AU  - Irene Zanettin
AU  - Mikael Lundqvist
AU  - Artin Arshamian
AU  - Johan N. Lundström
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/29
JO  - PLoS Biology
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003810
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003810
AB  - Perceived stimulus intensity is a core feature of sensory experience, yet how it emerges in the human olfactory system remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that oscillatory dynamics in the human olfactory bulb (OB) and piriform cortex (PC) primarily encode subjective perceived intensity rather than physical concentration. Using noninvasive electrobulbogram recordings, we show that early gamma-band activity in the OB reflects bottom-up transmission of perceived intensity to the PC, which in turn sends top-down beta-band feedback that modulates OB activity via phase-amplitude coupling and transient beta bursts. This bidirectional communication supports a dynamic updating mechanism that maintains perceptual constancy across varying environmental odor concentrations. Our findings reveal a previously uncharacterized oscillatory framework for intensity coding in the human olfactory system, highlighting the primacy of perception over stimulus properties and offering a mechanistic basis for predictive processing in early sensory circuits.
SN  - 1544-9173
SN  - 1545-7885
ER  -