Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Olfaction01:25

Olfaction

The sense of smell is achieved through the activities of the olfactory system. It starts when an airborne odorant enters the nasal cavity and reaches olfactory epithelium (OE). The OE is protected by a thin layer of mucus, which also serves the purpose of dissolving more complex compounds into simpler chemical odorants. The size of the OE and the density of sensory neurons varies among species; in humans, the OE is only about 9-10 cm2.
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
Perceptual Constancy01:12

Perceptual Constancy

Perceptual constancy is the ability to recognize that objects remain consistent and unchanged even when their appearance varies due to changes in sensory input. There are four main types of perceptual constancy: size constancy, shape constancy, color constancy, and brightness constancy.
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...
Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway01:20

Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway

Humans detect odors with the help of specialized cells located in the upper part of the nasal cavity, called olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). ORNs possess hair-like structures called cilia, which are receptive to sensations from the inhaled air. When an odorant molecule binds to a specific receptor on the cell of the cilia, it leads to a series of events that ultimately cause the ORN to send electrical signals to the olfactory bulb in the brain through the olfactory nerves.
The olfactory...
Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure01:03

Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure

The process of olfaction, also known as the sense of smell, is a sophisticated chemical response system. The specialized sensory neurons that facilitate this process, known as olfactory receptor neurons, are situated in an upper segment of the nasal cavity, known as the olfactory epithelium. Olfactory sensory neurons are bipolar, with their dendrites extending from the epithelium's apex into the mucus that lines the nasal cavity. Airborne molecules, when inhaled, traverse the olfactory...
Introduction to Special Senses01:26

Introduction to Special Senses

Sensory receptors play an integral part in comprehending our external and internal environments. They receive diverse stimuli, converting them into the nervous system's electrochemical signals. This conversion occurs as the stimulus alters the sensory neuron's cell membrane potential, instigating the generation of an action potential. This action potential is subsequently transmitted to the central nervous system (CNS), which integrates with other sensory data or higher cognitive functions.
Auditory Perception01:17

Auditory Perception

The auditory system is essential for sound perception, utilizing various critical structures. When sound waves enter the outer ear, they travel through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted to the middle ear, where three tiny bones – the malleus, incus, and stapes – amplify the sound. This amplification is crucial, as it ensures that the sound vibrations are strong enough to be conveyed to the inner ear. These vibrations then reach the cochlea, a...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Effects of ethanol exposure in neonatal mice on retinoic acid signaling in forebrain neurons and astrocytes.

IBRO neuroscience reports·2026
Same author

Spatial segregation of piriform output neurons toward cognitive and emotional networks.

PNAS nexus·2026
Same author

At-Home Delivery of Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired With Task-Specific Training Improves Performance of High-Priority Activities in Persons With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury or Stroke.

American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation·2026
Same author

Devaluation of response-produced safety signals reveals circuits for goal-directed versus habitual avoidance in dorsal striatum.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Closed-Loop Vagus Nerve Stimulation Delivered With a Miniaturized System Produces Lasting Recovery in Individuals With Chronic Stroke.

Stroke·2025
Same author

Clinical experience implanting a miniature externally powered vagus nerve stimulator.

Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics·2025
Same journal

Neural timescales from a computational perspective.

Nature neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Author Correction: Spinal cord Tau pathology induces tactile deficits and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease via dysregulation of CCK neurons.

Nature neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Hippocampal theta sweeps indicate goal direction during navigation.

Nature neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Just how goal-directed are hippocampal theta sweeps, anyway?

Nature neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Goal-directed hippocampal theta sweeps during memory-guided navigation.

Nature neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Connectomic evidence that ordered activity drives neuromuscular network formation.

Nature neuroscience·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants
04:47

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants

Published on: September 18, 2018

Olfactory perceptual stability and discrimination.

Dylan C Barnes1, Rylon D Hofacer, Ashiq R Zaman

  • 1Neurobehavioral Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA.

Nature Neuroscience
|November 4, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Our brain recognizes complex smells by processing variations. Olfactory bulb neurons distinguish scent components, while the piriform cortex completes missing scent information for stable perception.

More Related Videos

Simple and Computer-assisted Olfactory Testing for Mice
06:40

Simple and Computer-assisted Olfactory Testing for Mice

Published on: June 15, 2015

An Objective and Reproducible Test of Olfactory Learning and Discrimination in Mice
09:33

An Objective and Reproducible Test of Olfactory Learning and Discrimination in Mice

Published on: March 22, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants
04:47

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants

Published on: September 18, 2018

Simple and Computer-assisted Olfactory Testing for Mice
06:40

Simple and Computer-assisted Olfactory Testing for Mice

Published on: June 15, 2015

An Objective and Reproducible Test of Olfactory Learning and Discrimination in Mice
09:33

An Objective and Reproducible Test of Olfactory Learning and Discrimination in Mice

Published on: March 22, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Olfactory Perception
  • Sensory Processing

Background:

  • The brain perceives distinct scents, like roses, as unified percepts despite individual variations.
  • Understanding how the brain decodes complex olfactory mixtures and handles incomplete sensory information is crucial for explaining stable perception.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how neural ensembles in the olfactory bulb and piriform cortex process complex scent mixtures.
  • To determine the role of these neural circuits in olfactory perception and perceptual stability.

Main Methods:

  • Recording neural activity from ensembles of olfactory bulb and piriform cortex neurons in rats.
  • Analyzing neural responses to complex odor mixtures with varying components, including missing elements.

Main Results:

  • Olfactory bulb neural ensembles decorrelate complex mixtures, distinguishing even single-component variations.
  • Olfactory (piriform) cortical neural ensembles exhibit pattern completion for absent odor components.
  • Piriform cortical ensemble activity was found to predict olfactory perception.

Conclusions:

  • The olfactory bulb and piriform cortex employ distinct mechanisms for processing complex odors.
  • Pattern completion in the piriform cortex contributes to stable olfactory perception despite incomplete sensory input.
  • Neural activity in the piriform cortex is a key predictor of how odors are perceived.