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...
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...
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...
Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Respiration-coordinated attentional switch from feedforward to top-down informational flow directed by the basal forebrain: layer-specific blanket inhibition of pyramidal cells by neurogliaform cells in the piriform cortex.

Frontiers in neural circuits·2026
Same author

How do we think and what is the neural circuit mechanism for it? Possible roles of working memory and inner speech in thinking.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same author

Evaluating Encoder and Decoder Models for Extended Clinical Concept Recognition in Japanese Clinical Texts: Comparative Study With Weighted Soft Matching.

Journal of medical Internet research·2026
Same author

Evaluating Encoder and Decoder Models for Extended Clinical Concept Recognition in Japanese Clinical Texts: A Comparative Study with Weighted Soft Matching.

Journal of medical Internet research·2026
Same author

Isotonic and minimally invasive optical clearing media for live cell imaging ex vivo and in vivo.

Nature methods·2026
Same author

Calculation of large periodic backdrops using numerical propagation with circular convolution in full-parallax high-definition CGHs.

Optics letters·2026
Same journal

Evolutionary and Biochemical Perspectives on the Incorporation and Utilization of Selenocysteine.

Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology·2026
Same journal

The Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter: From Parts to Signaling Networks.

Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology·2026
Same journal

Growth Control and Beyond: Functional Diversity and Regulation of the Hippo Pathway in the Nervous System.

Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology·2026
Same journal

Structural Studies of Core Hippo Pathway Components.

Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology·2026
Same journal

The Hippo Pathway in Intestinal Regeneration, Fetal Reprogramming, and Tumorigenesis.

Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology·2026
Same journal

A Synergy between Genetics and Biochemistry Unravels the Molecular Architecture of the Hippo Signaling Pathway.

Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2026

The Olfactory System as a Model to Study Axonal Growth Patterns and Morphology In Vivo
08:29

The Olfactory System as a Model to Study Axonal Growth Patterns and Morphology In Vivo

Published on: October 30, 2014

Topographic mapping--the olfactory system.

Takeshi Imai1, Hitoshi Sakano, Leslie B Vosshall

  • 1The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Science, Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yayoi 2-11-16, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan.

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology
|June 18, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The brain maps the world through senses like touch and vision, but olfaction (smell) processes a vast, discontinuous chemical space. Olfactory glomeruli in mammals and insects organize smell information uniquely, despite different wiring mechanisms.

More Related Videos

Imaging Odor-Evoked Activities in the Mouse Olfactory Bulb using Optical Reflectance and Autofluorescence Signals
08:30

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

Published on: October 31, 2011

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

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 12, 2026

The Olfactory System as a Model to Study Axonal Growth Patterns and Morphology In Vivo
08:29

The Olfactory System as a Model to Study Axonal Growth Patterns and Morphology In Vivo

Published on: October 30, 2014

Imaging Odor-Evoked Activities in the Mouse Olfactory Bulb using Optical Reflectance and Autofluorescence Signals
08:30

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

Published on: October 31, 2011

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

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Biology
  • Olfaction Research

Background:

  • Sensory systems create brain maps of the external world.
  • Vision and touch use topographic mapping.
  • Olfaction maps discontinuous chemical space with numerous stimuli.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore how olfactory systems map chemical information in the brain.
  • To compare olfactory mapping mechanisms in mammals and insects.
  • To understand the role of olfactory glomeruli in processing odor stimuli.

Main Methods:

  • Investigated the wiring of olfactory circuits in mammals and insects.
  • Examined the structure and function of olfactory glomeruli.
  • Analyzed the convergence of sensory neurons expressing specific odorant receptors.

Main Results:

  • Olfactory circuits in both mammals and insects converge axons from neurons with the same odorant receptor.
  • Synapses form spherical structures called olfactory glomeruli.
  • Olfactory maps show conserved form but divergent developmental mechanisms between mammals and insects.

Conclusions:

  • Olfactory glomeruli are key structures for mapping discontinuous chemical space.
  • Despite conserved structure, olfactory mapping mechanisms differ between species.
  • Olfactory glomeruli represent a unique neural solution for processing complex odor information.