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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...
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...
Tactile and Chemical Senses01:27

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Combining a Breath-Synchronized Olfactometer with Brain Simulation to Study the Impact of Odors on Corticospinal Excitability and Effective Connectivity
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Combining a Breath-Synchronized Olfactometer with Brain Simulation to Study the Impact of Odors on Corticospinal Excitability and Effective Connectivity

Published on: January 19, 2024

Making scents: dynamic olfactometry for threshold measurement.

Roland Schmidt1, William S Cain

  • 1Chemosensory Perception Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0957, USA.

Chemical Senses
|December 8, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a novel vapor delivery device (VDD8) to address significant human odor threshold variability. The VDD8 enables more accurate olfactory psychophysics, revealing humans are more sensitive and less variable than previously thought.

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Area of Science:

  • Olfactory psychophysics
  • Sensory science
  • Environmental health

Background:

  • Human odor threshold data exhibit substantial inter-study variability, hindering reliable comparisons and applications.
  • Existing methods challenge comparisons between human and animal olfaction, in vitro and in vivo studies, and the identification of odorant potency determinants.
  • This variability impacts public health policy and environmental monitoring reliant on olfactory data.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce a novel vapor delivery device (VDD8) designed to improve the accuracy and reliability of olfactory psychophysical measurements.
  • To provide a standardized tool for olfactory research that overcomes limitations of previous methodologies.
  • To enable more precise characterization of human olfactory sensitivity and perception.

Main Methods:

  • Development and description of the vapor delivery device 8 (VDD8) and its peripherals.
  • The VDD8 offers flexible concentration ranges, stable delivery, solvent-free capabilities (part-per-trillion), and realistic subject interfaces.
  • Adaptable to various psychophysical methods, including measurement of absolute sensitivity, differential sensitivity, quality discrimination, and mixture perception.

Main Results:

  • The VDD8 facilitates the collection of thousands of daily judgments from simultaneously tested subjects.
  • Results obtained using the VDD8 indicate humans possess greater sensitivity and exhibit less variability in odor detection than previously reported.
  • The system's design principles are applicable to both human and animal olfactory testing.

Conclusions:

  • The VDD8 represents a significant advancement in olfactory research tools, enabling more robust and reproducible data collection.
  • Improved accuracy in measuring human odor thresholds has implications for environmental and public health applications.
  • The device's versatility supports a wide range of olfactory research, from basic sensitivity to complex perception.