Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway

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...

Olfaction

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...

Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure

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...

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex. This...

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...

What is a Sensory System?

What is a Sensory System?

Sensory systems detect stimuli—such as light and sound waves—and transduce them into neural signals that can be interpreted by the nervous system. In addition to external stimuli detected by the senses, some sensory systems detect internal stimuli—such as the proprioceptors in muscles and tendons that send feedback about limb position.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Fate of full-house immunofluorescence staining in renal allograft: A case report.

Pathology international·2019

Same author

Effect of H<sub>2</sub> treatment in a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease.

Journal of cellular and molecular medicine·2019

Same author

Group 1 innate lymphoid cells are involved in the progression of experimental anti-glomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis and are regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α.

Kidney international·2019

Same author

A case of membranous nephropathy diagnosed with lupus nephritis 11 years after onset.

CEN case reports·2019

Same author

Preparation of hybrid porcine thymus containing non-human primate thymic epithelial cells in miniature swine.

Xenotransplantation·2019

Same author

β<sub>2</sub>-Adrenergic receptor expression is associated with biomarkers of tumor immunity and predicts poor prognosis in estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer.

Breast cancer research and treatment·2019

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Constructing an Olfactometer for Rodent Olfactory Behavior Studies

Constructing an Olfactometer for Rodent Olfactory Behavior Studies

Published on: April 11, 2025

Architecture of odor information processing in the olfactory system.

Takaaki Sato¹, Junzo Hirono, Hiroshi Hamana

¹Research Institute for Cell Engineering, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan. taka-sato@aist.go.jp

Anatomical Science International

|January 23, 2009

Summary

This study explores how the brain processes smell, examining odor information at both the receptor and olfactory cortex levels. Researchers developed new methods to understand the complex coding of scents, revealing a hierarchical system based on receptor sensitivity.

More Related Videos

Real-time In Vitro Monitoring of Odorant Receptor Activation by an Odorant in the Vapor Phase

Real-time In Vitro Monitoring of Odorant Receptor Activation by an Odorant in the Vapor Phase

Published on: April 23, 2019

Imaging Odor-Evoked Activities in the Mouse Olfactory Bulb using Optical Reflectance and Autofluorescence Signals

Imaging Odor-Evoked Activities in the Mouse Olfactory Bulb using Optical Reflectance and Autofluorescence Signals

Published on: October 31, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Constructing an Olfactometer for Rodent Olfactory Behavior Studies

Constructing an Olfactometer for Rodent Olfactory Behavior Studies

Published on: April 11, 2025

Real-time In Vitro Monitoring of Odorant Receptor Activation by an Odorant in the Vapor Phase

Real-time In Vitro Monitoring of Odorant Receptor Activation by an Odorant in the Vapor Phase

Published on: April 23, 2019

Imaging Odor-Evoked Activities in the Mouse Olfactory Bulb using Optical Reflectance and Autofluorescence Signals

Imaging Odor-Evoked Activities in the Mouse Olfactory Bulb using Optical Reflectance and Autofluorescence Signals

Published on: October 31, 2011

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Olfactory System Research
Sensory Processing

Background:

The olfactory system exhibits both simplicity (one neuron-one receptor rule) and complexity in odor decoding.
Odor perception involves intricate signal activation sequences and relative intensities across receptors.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate odor information processing at the receptor and olfactory cortex levels.
To examine similarities and differences in receptor codes for chiral odorants.
To dissect olfactory cortex processing using an isolated brain preparation.

Main Methods:

Tissue-printing method to sample all olfactory epithelial zones.
Development of an in vitro isolated whole brain with attached nose preparation.
Review of methodologies for receptor-sensitivity-dependent hierarchical odor coding.

Main Results:

Characterization of receptor codes for chiral odorants.
Establishment of a method to reduce non-olfactory input in brain preparations.
Hypothesized a hierarchical odor information coding dependent on receptor sensitivity.

Conclusions:

Odor information processing is complex, involving both receptor-level coding and higher cortical interpretation.
The developed in vitro preparation facilitates focused study of olfactory cortex signal processing.
A hierarchical coding model based on receptor sensitivity offers a framework for understanding odor perception.