论文标题：An intrinsic association between olfactory identification and spatial memory in humans

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作者：Louisa Dahmani, Raihaan M. Patel, Yiling Yang, M. Mallar Chakravarty, Lesley K. Fellows, Véronique D. Bohbot

发表时间：2018/10/16

数字识别码：10.1038/s41467-018-06569-4

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《自然-通讯》近日发表的一项研究An intrinsic association between olfactory identification and spatial memory in humans指出，人类的嗅觉可能与空间记忆力存在关联，且受到同一个脑区的控制。

有观点认为动物起初进化出嗅觉是为了帮助它们在环境中导航。目前已有证据表明，嗅觉识别可能与空间记忆力存在关联——空间记忆力指能在某个环境中找出不同地标之间关系并构建认知地图的能力。不过，这些证据尚未得到直接验证。

加拿大麦吉尔大学的Veronique Bohbot及同事试图寻找能证明嗅觉识别与空间记忆互相关联的直接证据，以及如果关联存在，两个功能是否共用一个脑区。作者对57名志愿者进行了测试，结果显示，那些在不同气味识别测试中表现较好的参与者在“寻路”任务中的表现也更出色——“寻路”任务要求参与者在一个虚拟小镇的不同地标之间进行导航。

作者通过磁共振成像发现，左侧内侧眶额皮层（mOFC）的厚度以及大脑右侧海马体积增加会提升两项任务的表现水准，这说明气味识别和空间导航能力可能是由同一个脑区控制的。在补充实验中，9名曾受过脑损伤，且mOFC受损的患者在嗅觉识别和空间记忆的任务中表现不佳；相比之下，另外9名同样受过脑损伤，但并未伤及mOFC的患者却没有出现表现不佳的情况。

图1：mOFC损伤的患者空间记忆能力下降。图源：Dahmani等

虽然进一步研究有待开展，但作者认为这一结果支持了一种观点，这种观点认为嗅觉最初的功能可能是为了支持构建认知地图和空间记忆的能力。

摘要：It was recently proposed that olfaction evolved to aid navigation. Consistent with this hypothesis, olfactory identification and spatial memory are linked to overlapping brain areas which include the orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus. However, the relationship between these two processes has never been specifically investigated. Here, we show that olfactory identification covaries with spatial memory in humans. We also found that the cortical thickness of the left medial orbitofrontal cortex, and the volume of the right hippocampus, predict both olfactory identification and spatial memory. Finally, we demonstrate deficits in both olfactory identification and spatial memory in patients with lesions of the medial orbitofrontal cortex. Our findings reveal an intrinsic relationship between olfaction and spatial memory that is supported by a shared reliance on the hippocampus and medial orbitofrontal cortex. This relationship may find its roots in the parallel evolution of the olfactory and hippocampal systems.

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