Authors
Norden, F., Winter, A. L., Kay, L. M., Arshamian, A., Lundqvist, M., Lundström, J. N.
Abstract
Olfactory perception relies on active sampling, where each inhalation delivers a discrete packet of sensory input. In humans, successive inhalations can be separated by several seconds, yet odors are perceived as continuous and stable. How the brain maintains this perceptual continuity across temporally discrete samples remains unknown. Here, we used electrobulbogram (EBG) recordings in 48 participants to demonstrate that successive sniffs are not processed independently but are linked through recurrent oscillatory dynamics between the olfactory bulb (OB) and piriform cortex (PC). Specifically, first-sniff alpha/beta activity in the OB and OB-PC functional connectivity predicted second-sniff gamma power, while transfer entropy indicated a directional temporal dependence from first-sniff alpha/beta to second-sniff gamma dynamics. In parallel, second-sniff gamma activity selectively tracked subjective odor valence prior to inhalation onset. At the network level, the PC exhibited stronger alpha/beta-band connectivity with orbitofrontal, insular, and prefrontal regions during the first sniff than during the second, suggesting that early evaluative processing provides a contextual signal that is carried forward to shape subsequent sensory representations. These results demonstrate that the human OB-PC circuit carries evaluative information across inhalations through directed alpha/beta-to-gamma interactions, providing a mechanism for maintaining perceptual continuity in a sensory system defined by temporally discrete sampling.
Preprint server:
bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 05 Sep 2026.
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