olfactory tubercle

olfactory tubercle (OTB)

The term olfactory tubercle refers to a histologically defined, predominantly cellular structure. It is located on the ventral surface of the basal forebrain, caudal to the anterior olfactory nucleus, medial to the olfactory tract, rostral to the piriform cortex and ventral to the nucleus accumbens and substantia innominata. It contains some islands of Calleja. In the rat ( Swanson-2004 ) and the mouse ( Hof-2000 ) it protrudes on the rostroventral surface of the basal forebrain and is clearly stratified. In primates, however, it does not protrude from surrounding areas and is penetrated by numerous small blood vessels. These give it an appearance on dissection that accounts for the name 'anterior perforated substance' in human neuroanatomy ( Crosby-1962 ). In the macaque it is somewhat more prominent than in the human and bounded medially by the tenia tecta ( Price-2004 ). Functionally it is part of the olfactory system, which mediates the sense of smell ( Buck-2013 ). A connection to the periaqueductal gray suggests a behavioral role in eating (Zhou-2024). Inasmuch as OTB is part of the ventral striatum ( Heimer-1995 ), shares a pattern of connectivity with neighboring nucleus accumbens (ACB), is densely innervated by dopaminergic fibers and supports electrical self-stimulation, it is believed to be involved in motivation and reward-supported learning ( Wesson-2020 ). The observation that its olfactory input is solely from the main olfactory bulb (OLBm) ( Buck-2013 ) would suggest that its primary behavioral functions might be approach and avoidance responses to positive and negative oderants from potentially edible substances. Updated 20 Jun 2024.

Also known as: olfactory tubercle (Ganser), tuber olfactorium, olfactory area (Carpenter), anterior perforated substance, Substantia perforata anterior, anterior perforated space, anterior perforated area, olfactory tubercle, Tuberculum olfactorium, Eminentia parolfactoria, Area olfactoria (Mai), olfactory area (Mai), rostral perforated substance, tubular striatum

NeuroNames ID: 282

All Names & Sources

1 of 36

Showing 36 synonym(s) - Use arrows to navigate

Showing 36 synonym(s)

Name:

переднее продырявленное вещество

Language:

Russian

Organism:

human

Source:

Savel'ev-1996

Citation:

AREA XVII, Moscow, 1996.

Source Title:

Stereoskopicheskii Atlas Mozga Cheloveka

Name:

APS

Language:

acronym

Organism:

human

Source:

Mai-1997

Citation:

San Diego: Academic Press, 1997

Source Title:

Atlas of the Human Brain

Name:

olfactory tubercle (Ganser)

Language:

English

Organism:

rat

Source:

Swanson-1998

Citation:

Second Revised Edition, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, 1998

Source Title:

Brain Maps: Structure of the Rat Brain

Name:

tuber olfactorium

Language:

Latin

Organism:

human

Source:

Savel'ev-1996

Citation:

AREA XVII, Moscow, 1996.

Source Title:

Stereoskopicheskii Atlas Mozga Cheloveka

Name:

Language:

acronym

Organism:

mouse

Source:

Paxinos-2001

Citation:

Second Edition, Academic Press, San Diego, 2001

Source Title:

The Mouse Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates

Name:

subtansi perforata anterior

Language:

Indonesian

Organism:

human

Source:

Noback-1982

Citation:

Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kedokteran EGC, 1982

Source Title:

Anatomi Susunan Saraf Manusia, Prinsip-Prinsip Dasar Neurobiologi

Name:

sustancia perforada anterior

Language:

Spanish

Organism:

human

Source:

Carpenter-1994

Citation:

edicion 4, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore; traducción de Editorial Medica Panamericana, Buenos Aires, efectuada por el Dr. Alejandro Kaufman

Source Title:

Neuroanatomía Fundamentos

Name:

Language:

acronym

Organism:

mouse

Source:

Hof-2000

Citation:

Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2000

Source Title:

Comparative Cytoarchitectonic Atlas of the C57BL/6 and 129/Sv Mouse Brains

Name:

olfactory area (Carpenter)

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Carpenter-1991

Citation:

Fourth Edition, Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1991

Source Title:

Core Text of Neuroanatomy

Name:

sostanza perforata anteriore

Language:

Italian

Organism:

human

Source:

Carpenter-1995

Citation:

EdiSes, s.r.l.- Napoli, 1995

Source Title:

Fondamenti di Neuroanatomia

Name:

anterior perforated substance

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Carpenter-1983

Citation:

Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Co., 1983

Source Title:

Human Neuroanatomy

Name:

Substantia perforata anterior

Language:

Latin

Organism:

human

Source:

Riley-1943

Citation:

Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Co., 1943

Source Title:

An Atlas Of The Basal Ganglia, Brain Stem And Spinal Cord (Based On Myelin-Stained Material)

Name:

Substantia perforata anterior

Language:

Latin

Organism:

Macaca fascicularis

Source:

Shantha-1968

Citation:

Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1968

Source Title:

A Stereotaxic Atlas Of The Java Monkey Brain (Macaca irus)

Name:

anterior perforated space

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Crosby-1962

Citation:

New York: MacMillan, 1962

Source Title:

Correlative Anatomy of the Nervous System

Name:

anterior perforated area

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Crosby-1962

Citation:

New York: MacMillan, 1962

Source Title:

Correlative Anatomy of the Nervous System

Name:

olfactory tubercle

Language:

English

Organism:

rat

Source:

Swanson-2004

Citation:

Third Edition, Elsevier Academic Press, Oxford, 2004

Source Title:

Brain Maps: Structure of the Rat Brain.

Name:

Tuberculum olfactorium

Language:

Latin

Organism:

human

Source:

Stephan-1975

Citation:

In Handbuch der mikroskopischen Anatomie des Menschen (W. Bargmann, Ed.), Vol. 4, Part 9, 998pp. Springer-Verlag, Berlin and New York.

Source Title:

Allocortex

Name:

Tuberculum olfactorium

Language:

Latin

Organism:

Cercocebus torquatus

Source:

Stephan-1970

Citation:

Chapter 5, pp. 289-297 in Advances in Primatology, C.R. Noback and W. Montagna (eds.), (Appleton Century Croft; New York)

Source Title:

The allocortex in primates

Name:

Eminentia parolfactoria

Language:

Latin

Organism:

human

Source:

Riley-1943

Citation:

Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Co., 1943

Source Title:

An Atlas Of The Basal Ganglia, Brain Stem And Spinal Cord (Based On Myelin-Stained Material)

Name:

Area olfactoria (Mai)

Language:

Latin

Organism:

human

Source:

Mai-1997

Citation:

San Diego: Academic Press, 1997

Source Title:

Atlas of the Human Brain

Name:

Area olfactoria (Mai)

Language:

Latin

Organism:

Macaca fascicularis

Source:

Shantha-1968

Citation:

Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1968

Source Title:

A Stereotaxic Atlas Of The Java Monkey Brain (Macaca irus)

Name:

olfactory area (Mai)

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Mai-1997

Citation:

San Diego: Academic Press, 1997

Source Title:

Atlas of the Human Brain

Name:

tubercolo olfattivo

Language:

Italian

Organism:

human

Source:

Carpenter-1995

Citation:

EdiSes, s.r.l.- Napoli, 1995

Source Title:

Fondamenti di Neuroanatomia

Name:

обонятельный бугорок

Language:

Russian

Organism:

human

Source:

Savel'ev-1996

Citation:

AREA XVII, Moscow, 1996.

Source Title:

Stereoskopicheskii Atlas Mozga Cheloveka

Name:

обонятельный бугор

Language:

Russian

Organism:

human

Source:

Savel'ev-1996

Citation:

AREA XVII, Moscow, 1996.

Source Title:

Stereoskopicheskii Atlas Mozga Cheloveka

Name:

rostral perforated substance

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Williams-1997

Citation:

Virtual Hospital, University of Iowa Health Care, http://www.vh.org/Providers/Textbooks/BrainAnatomy/TOC.html

Source Title:

The Human Brain: Dissections of the Real Brain

Name:

área olfatoria

Language:

Spanish

Organism:

human

Source:

Carpenter-1994

Citation:

edicion 4, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore; traducción de Editorial Medica Panamericana, Buenos Aires, efectuada por el Dr. Alejandro Kaufman

Source Title:

Neuroanatomía Fundamentos

Name:

substance perforée antérieure

Language:

French

Organism:

human

Source:

Duvernoy-1992

Citation:

Springer-Verlag, Paris, 1992

Source Title:

Le cerveau humain: Surface, coupes seriees tridimensionnelles et IRM

Name:

olfactory tubercle

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Paxinos-2004

Citation:

Second Edition, Elsevier Academic Press, Amsterdam, 2004

Source Title:

The Human Nervous System

Name:

OTu

Language:

acronym

Organism:

human

Source:

Paxinos-2004

Citation:

Second Edition, Elsevier Academic Press, Amsterdam, 2004

Source Title:

The Human Nervous System

Name:

Language:

acronym

Organism:

rat

Source:

Swanson-2004

Citation:

Third Edition, Elsevier Academic Press, Oxford, 2004

Source Title:

Brain Maps: Structure of the Rat Brain.

Name:

Language:

acronym

Organism:

Macaca mulatta

Source:

Paxinos-2009a

Citation:

Amsterdam: Elsevier-Academic Press. 2009

Source Title:

The Rhesus Monkey Brain, Second Edition

Name:

OTB

Language:

acronym

Organism:

Unspecified

Source:

NeuroNames

Citation:

University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Source Title:

NeuroNames

Name:

TUB

Language:

acronym

Organism:

human

Source:

Zhou-2024

Citation:

Source Title:

Structural Connectivity between Olfactory Tubercle and Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray Implicated in Human Feeding Behavior

Name:

tubular striatum

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Source:

Zhou-2024

Citation:

Source Title:

Structural Connectivity between Olfactory Tubercle and Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray Implicated in Human Feeding Behavior

Name:

TuS

Language:

acronym

Organism:

mouse

Source:

Wesson-2020

Citation:

Source Title:

The Tubular Striatum

Illustrations

Showing 6 illustration(s)

labeled line drawings of
sagittal section in
Macaca fascicularis

multiple views of
3D reconstruction in
Macaca mulatta

drawing of
all aspects in
macaque

diagrams of medial and
orbital prefrontal cortex in
human and macaque

Nissl stain & diagram of
coronal section in
mouse

Nissl stain & diagram of
sagittal section in
mouse

Species With The Structure

Equivalent By	Human	Macaque	Rat	Mouse
Topology	Has The Structure	Has The Structure	Has The Structure	Has The Structure

1 of 17

Showing 17 record(s) - Use arrows to navigate

Showing 17 record(s)

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

anterior perforated area

Source:

Crosby-1962

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

anterior perforated space

Source:

Crosby-1962

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

Area olfactoria (Mai)

Source:

Mai-1997

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

Eminentia parolfactoria

Source:

Riley-1943

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

olfactory area (Carpenter)

Source:

Carpenter-1991

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

olfactory area (Mai)

Source:

Mai-1997

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

olfactory tubercle

Source:

Paxinos-2004

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

rostral perforated substance

Source:

Williams-1997

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

Substantia perforata anterior

Source:

Riley-1943

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

tuber olfactorium

Source:

Savel'ev-1996

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Homo sapiens (human)

Their Name:

Tuberculum olfactorium

Source:

Stephan-1975

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Macaca fascicularis (Macaca fascicularis)

Their Name:

anterior perforated substance

Source:

Martin-1997

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Macaca fascicularis (Macaca fascicularis)

Their Name:

Area olfactoria (Mai)

Source:

Shantha-1968

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Macaca fascicularis (Macaca fascicularis)

Their Name:

Substantia perforata anterior

Source:

Shantha-1968

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Rattus (rat)

Their Name:

olfactory tubercle

Source:

Bowden-1997

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Rattus (rat)

Their Name:

olfactory tubercle (Ganser)

Source:

Swanson-1998

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Mus (mouse)

Their Name:

olfactory tubercle

Source:

Hof-2000

Source Page:

260

Models Where It Appears

Structural CNS Model - Macaque

Brain structures of the macaque are illustrated in BrainInfo’s NeuroMaps macaque brain atlas. Structures are grouped by proximity in a hierarchy corresponding to the central nervous system hierarchy of NeuroNames ( Bowden-1995 Martin-2000 ). Structures in the NeuroMaps atlas are based on the segmentation of an MRI of the brain of a 3-year old male rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). The atlas is most useful for targeting structures for implantating electrodes and chemtrodes. Updated 29 Oct 2025.

Functional CNS Model - Rat

The Functional CNS Model - Rat (FMrat) ( Swanson-2004) is one of three hierarchical models representing the internal organization of the central nervous system (CNS). The others are the Structural CNS Model - Human (SThmn) and the Functional CNS Model - Human (FMhmn). The FMrat model represents the basic organization of the mouse ( Hof-2000 AMBA-2024 ) and, presumably, other rodents. Functional CNS models differ from structural models in that structures are defined and named by connectivity rather than by proximity to other structures at the same level. Functional models are more useful for representing longitudinal components of are grouped based on information drawn from multiple neuroscientific disciplines. such as connections, neurochemical characteristics, and role in physiogical and behavioral processes. While the Functional Model was developed primarily for an atlas of the rat brain ( Swanson-2004 ), the hierarchical organization of structures is for the most part applicable to the human, macaque, mouse and other mammalian brains as well. Structures at lower levels of the Functional CNS hierarchy are largely the same as in the Classical and Developmental Models, i.e., they were originally identified by stains for gray matter (Nissl substance) and white matter (myelin). At the next higher level they are grouped into basic connectional and functional systems of the CNS, such as the subcortical sensory systems, the brainstem motor system and the behavioral state system. At the highest levels CNS structures are grouped on the basis of dissection and embryologic precursors into cerebrum ( cerebral cortex and cerebral nuclei ), cerebellum, and cerebrospinal trunk.