ArticleTopics in cognitive science2026
The Wire Is Not the Territory: Understanding Representational Drift in Olfaction With Dynamical Systems Theory.
Article in Topics in cognitive science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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2 citing papers in PubMed.
- How to Foster Challenging Interdisciplinary Collaborations: Can Philosophy Support Neuroscientists?The European journal of neuroscience · 2026Review
- Wider Than the Sky: An Alternative to "Mapping" the World Onto the Brain.The European journal of neuroscience · 2025Article
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Abstract
Representational drift is a phenomenon of increasing interest in the cognitive and neural sciences. While investigations are ongoing for other sensory cortices, recent research has demonstrated the pervasiveness in which it occurs in the piriform cortex for olfaction. This gradual weakening and shifting of stimulus-responsive cells has critical implications for sensory stimulus-response models and perceptual decision-making. While representational drift may complicate traditional sensory processing models, it could be seen as an advantage in olfaction, as animals live in environments with constantly changing and unpredictable chemical information. Non-topographical encoding in the olfactory system may aid in contextualizing reactions to promiscuous odor stimuli, facilitating adaptive animal behavior and survival. This article suggests that traditional models of stimulus-(neural) response mapping in olfaction may need to be reevaluated and instead motivates the use of dynamical systems theory as a methodology and conceptual framework.
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