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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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

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

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants

Published on: September 18, 2018

Assessing implicit odor localization in humans using a cross-modal spatial cueing paradigm.

Carolin Moessnang1, Andreas Finkelmeyer, Alexandra Vossen

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. camoessnang@ukaachen.de

Plos One
|January 5, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Humans may possess an implicit ability for directional smelling, influencing behavior even without conscious awareness. This study reveals subtle, subconscious olfactory spatial processing, suggesting a residual capacity for odor localization.

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 26, 2026

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants
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Published on: September 18, 2018

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12:10

Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task

Published on: March 4, 2022

A Free-breathing fMRI Method to Study Human Olfactory Function
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A Free-breathing fMRI Method to Study Human Olfactory Function

Published on: July 30, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Perception
  • Human Behavior

Background:

  • Chemosensory navigation is crucial for animals, but human odor localization ability is debated.
  • Previous studies suggest humans lack directional smelling, often due to reliance on explicit tasks.
  • Implicit olfactory processing may offer insights into residual human directional smelling capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the existence of implicit directional smelling in humans.
  • To determine if olfactory spatial cues influence behavior non-consciously.
  • To explore the role of implicit odor localization in human spatial cognition.

Main Methods:

  • A novel cueing paradigm using side-congruent and side-incongruent olfactory spatial cues.
  • Participants performed a visual task with preceding olfactory cues.
  • An explicit odor localization task was conducted for comparison.

Main Results:

  • No significant difference in overall reaction times based on cue congruency.
  • Initial slowing of responses to congruently cued targets, indicating an implicit effect.
  • The cueing effect diminished over time, possibly due to habituation.
  • Performance in explicit odor localization was at chance level.

Conclusions:

  • Implicit olfactory cues influence human behavior, suggesting spatial information processing.
  • Response slowing is interpreted as cross-modal attentional interference.
  • Habituation likely contributed to the diminishing cueing effect.
  • Humans lack explicit odor localization but show implicit behavioral influence, supporting residual directional smelling.