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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.
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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...

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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.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Identification of Olfactory Volatiles using Gas Chromatography-Multi-unit Recordings (GCMR) in the Insect Antennal Lobe

Identification of Olfactory Volatiles using Gas Chromatography-Multi-unit Recordings (GCMR) in the Insect Antennal Lobe

Published on: February 24, 2013

Olfactory coding in five moth species from two families.

Sonja Bisch-Knaden¹, Mikael A Carlsson, Yuki Sugimoto

¹Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, D-07745 Jena, Germany. sbisch-knaden@ice.mpg.de

The Journal of Experimental Biology

|April 13, 2012

Summary

Moth olfactory coding in the brain shows similar basic patterns across families. However, phylogenetic distance influences odor coding strategies, with distinct patterns observed between hawk and owlet moths.

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Identification of Olfactory Volatiles using Gas Chromatography-Multi-unit Recordings (GCMR) in the Insect Antennal Lobe

Identification of Olfactory Volatiles using Gas Chromatography-Multi-unit Recordings (GCMR) in the Insect Antennal Lobe

Published on: February 24, 2013

Single Sensillum Recordings in the Insects Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae

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Published on: February 17, 2010

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Olfactory Coding
Insect Biology

Background:

Understanding how olfactory information is processed in the brain is crucial for comprehending sensory perception.
Phylogeny and life history are known factors that can influence neural processing, including olfaction.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of evolutionary relationships (phylogeny) and ecological adaptations (life history) on odour coding in moth brains.
To compare olfactory neural activity patterns in the antennal lobe of different moth species.

Main Methods:

Utilized three species of hawk moths (Sphingidae) and two species of owlet moths (Noctuidae).
Visualized neural activity patterns in the antennal lobe in response to ecologically relevant plant volatiles.
Analyzed and compared olfactory coding strategies across the selected moth species.

Main Results:

Basic olfactory coding features in the antennal lobe were found to be similar across phylogenetically distant moth families (Sphingidae and Noctuidae).
Distinct olfactory coding strategies were observed: Noctuidae species exhibited more specific patterns for chemically similar odorants compared to Sphingidae species.
Differences in larval and adult diets within the Sphingidae family did not lead to significant variations in their olfactory coding patterns.

Conclusions:

Phylogenetic distance significantly impacts olfactory coding strategies in moths, even when life history traits are similar.
The antennal lobe's olfactory code reflects evolutionary divergence between moth families.
Life history variations, such as diet, may have a limited role in shaping olfactory coding within closely related species like Sphingidae.