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...
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...
Sign Test for Median of Single Population01:20

Sign Test for Median of Single Population

In general, the sign test serves as a nonparametric method to test hypotheses about the median of a single population when the data does not follow a known distribution. This simplicity makes it particularly useful for small sample sizes or when the assumptions of parametric tests cannot be met. The process begins with identifying a null hypothesis, typically stating that the population median equals a specific value. The alternative hypothesis could be that the median is either not equal to,...
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...
The Normal and Binormal Vectors01:27

The Normal and Binormal Vectors

A roller coaster spiraling upward along a helical track offers a vivid illustration of the geometry of space curves. As the car follows the track, its movement at each point can be described using a set of three mutually perpendicular unit vectors: the tangent, normal, and binormal vectors. Together, these vectors form the Frenet–Serret frame, a moving coordinate system that captures how a curve behaves in three-dimensional space.Tangent, Normal, and Binormal VectorsThe unit tangent vector...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Distributed control circuits across a brain-and-cord connectome.

Nature·2026
Same author

Specialized parallel pathways for adaptive control of visual object pursuit.

Neuron·2026
Same author

Map of spiking activity underlying change detection in the mouse visual system.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Leg compliance is required to explain the ground reaction force patterns and speed ranges in different gaits.

Royal Society open science·2025
Same author

Ultra-high-density Neuropixels probes improve detection and identification in neuronal recordings.

Neuron·2025
Same author

Distributed control circuits across a brain-and-cord connectome.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same journal

Spatiomolecular mapping reveals anatomical organization of heterogeneous cell types in the human nucleus accumbens.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

TGF-β1-induced endothelial transcytosis drives blood-brain barrier leakage during aging.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Image space opens up for visual neuroscience.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Septal GLP-1 receptors control alcohol taking and seeking.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Microglial fitness in moderation: Tuning TREM2 signaling through Ptpn6.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Human astrocytes keep time with inflammation.

Neuron·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Quadruple Immunostaining of the Olfactory Bulb for Visualization of Olfactory Sensory Axon Molecular Identity Codes
06:32

Quadruple Immunostaining of the Olfactory Bulb for Visualization of Olfactory Sensory Axon Molecular Identity Codes

Published on: June 5, 2017

Divisive normalization in olfactory population codes.

Shawn R Olsen1, Vikas Bhandawat, Rachel I Wilson

  • 1Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Neuron
|May 4, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Olfactory processing in fruit flies involves neural normalization, where signals are adjusted by surrounding neuron activity. This mechanism enhances odor discrimination by boosting weak signals and equalizing responses.

More Related Videos

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding
10:59

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding

Published on: June 29, 2017

A Lateralized Odor Learning Model in Neonatal Rats for Dissecting Neural Circuitry Underpinning Memory Formation
10:42

A Lateralized Odor Learning Model in Neonatal Rats for Dissecting Neural Circuitry Underpinning Memory Formation

Published on: August 18, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Quadruple Immunostaining of the Olfactory Bulb for Visualization of Olfactory Sensory Axon Molecular Identity Codes
06:32

Quadruple Immunostaining of the Olfactory Bulb for Visualization of Olfactory Sensory Axon Molecular Identity Codes

Published on: June 5, 2017

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding
10:59

New Methods to Study Gustatory Coding

Published on: June 29, 2017

A Lateralized Odor Learning Model in Neonatal Rats for Dissecting Neural Circuitry Underpinning Memory Formation
10:42

A Lateralized Odor Learning Model in Neonatal Rats for Dissecting Neural Circuitry Underpinning Memory Formation

Published on: August 18, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Olfactory system
  • Sensory processing

Background:

  • Neuronal activity is often normalized by the activity of neighboring neurons in sensory systems.
  • The mechanisms of normalization in the olfactory system are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate normalization during olfactory processing in the Drosophila antennal lobe.
  • To understand how normalization affects projection neuron (PN) responses and odor discrimination.

Main Methods:

  • Exploiting the ordered anatomy of the Drosophila antennal lobe.
  • Independently manipulating feedforward and lateral inputs to projection neurons (PNs).
  • Developing a computational model to predict PN odor responses.

Main Results:

  • Lateral inhibition normalizes feedforward input to PNs, scaling with olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) population activity.
  • Increased ORN activity leads to more transient PN responses.
  • A simple model with feedforward and total ORN activity accurately predicts PN responses.
  • Normalization facilitates odor discrimination by boosting weak signals and equalizing responses.

Conclusions:

  • Normalization is a key process in Drosophila olfactory processing.
  • This normalization enhances the ability to discriminate between odors.
  • The findings provide insights into neural computation in sensory systems.