Computational Models of Olfaction in Fruit Flies

Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) rely on their olfactory system to process environmental information. Although an extensive number of studies have revealed the basic molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying information processing as well as neural circuits of learning in the Drosophila's olfactory system, there are still many questions that are awaiting an answer. Specifically, linking behavior to underlying molecular mechanisms and neural circuitry are some of the challenges of modern neuroscience. In this review, we present some models which are based on available data of the Drosophila olfactory system to describe the role of physiological as well as structural parameters in information processing in the Drosophila olfactory system.