image: The fly Bloom filter stores information about which odors have been recently experienced. This filter is used to generate an analog novelty signal for odors. MBON-α'3 is a mushroom body output neuron that computes novelty responses for odors. view more
Credit: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Researchers report that the fruit fly's olfactory system can distinguish new odors from previously experienced odors via a process called novelty detection and that the flies have evolved a variant of a Bloom filter, which is used in computer science to determine whether an element belongs to a set; according to the authors, the fruit fly's Bloom filter can detect degrees of odor novelty by determining an odor's similarity to previously experienced odors and the time elapsed since experiencing that odor or similar odors.
Article #18-14448: "A neural data structure for novelty detection," by Sanjoy Dasgupta, Timothy C. Sheehan, Charles F. Stevens, and Saket Navlakha.
MEDIA CONTACT: Saket Navlakha, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA; tel: 858-453-4100 x2247; email: navlakha@salk.edu
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