Olfactory Sensing and Navigation: Theory and Experiments
ORAL · Invited
Abstract
Olfactory cues allow animals to locate food (or mates) by their odors from long distances. Wind and irregular flows are often responsible for the spread of odors, as molecular diffusion is unable to carry odors over relevant distances under natural conditions. The upshot is that sensing and navigating olfactory cues in natural conditions is challenging. I will specifically discuss models and experiments for two instances of this class of problems: olfactory trail tracking and habituation to strongly fluctuating odor backgrounds.
*NIH provided support via the Grant No. RF1NS128865-01.
–
Publication: Manifold learning for olfactory habituation to strongly fluctuating backgrounds. F. Bourassa, P. François, G. Reddy, M. Vergassola, PRX Life, 4:013008, 2026.
Sector search strategies for odor trail tracking. G. Reddy, B.I. Shraiman, M. Vergassola. Proc. Nat. Academy Sciences, 119:e2107431118, 2022.
Mice navigate scent trails using predictive policies. Siddharth Jayakumar, Nicola Rigolli, Mackenzie W. Mathis, Massimo Vergassola, Alexander Mathis, Venkatesh N. Murthy. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.672631
Presenters
-
Massimo Vergassola
- UCSD