Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent years,...

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent years,...

Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway

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...

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.
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

The circadian—or biological—clock is an intrinsic, timekeeping, molecular mechanism that allows plants to coordinate physiological activities over 24-hour cycles called circadian rhythms. Photoperiodism is a collective term for the biological responses of plants to variations in the relative lengths of dark and light periods. The period of light-exposure is called the photoperiod.

Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Clinical use of cold atmospheric pressure argon plasma in chronic leg ulcers: A pilot study.

Journal of wound care·2015

Same author

Filtration effects of zebra mussels on pathogens and total bacterial burden in the Odra Lagoon (South Baltic).

Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research·2015

Same author

[Principles of hygiene in ENT endoscopy].

Laryngo- rhino- otologie·2015

Same author

Fibreoptic vs videolaryngoscopic (C-MAC(®) D-BLADE) nasal awake intubation under local anaesthesia.

Anaesthesia·2015

Same author

[Score-controlled duration of follow-up treatment after alloplastic hip and knee replacement].

Zeitschrift fur Orthopadie und Unfallchirurgie·2015

Same author

Role of chromosomal aberrations in clonal diversity and progression of acute myeloid leukemia.

Leukemia·2015

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 14, 2026

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants

Published on: September 18, 2018

Odor is a time cue for circadian behavior.

U Abraham¹, M Saleh, A Kramer

¹Laboratory of Chronobiology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. ute.abraham@charite.de

Journal of Biological Rhythms

|February 6, 2013

Summary

Odors can act as a time cue, influencing circadian rhythms and locomotor behavior in mammals. This effect is more pronounced without the central pacemaker but still requires a functional internal clock.

Area of Science:

Chronobiology
Neuroscience
Sensory Biology

Background:

Circadian rhythms govern physiological and behavioral processes, synchronized by environmental cues like light and food.
Odors provide critical fitness-related information and can vary with time of day.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if odors function as a circadian time cue influencing mammalian locomotor behavior.
To explore the role of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and extra-SCN clocks in odor-mediated circadian effects.

Main Methods:

Mice in running wheels were exposed to periodic artificial odor mixtures.
Circadian activity rhythms were analyzed in intact, SCN-lesioned, and clock mutant mice.

Main Results:

More Related Videos

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

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

Constructing an Olfactometer for Rodent Olfactory Behavior Studies

Constructing an Olfactometer for Rodent Olfactory Behavior Studies

Published on: April 11, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 14, 2026

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants

Published on: September 18, 2018

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

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

Constructing an Olfactometer for Rodent Olfactory Behavior Studies

Constructing an Olfactometer for Rodent Olfactory Behavior Studies

Published on: April 11, 2025

Rhythmic odor administration lengthened the period of circadian activity rhythms.

Odor cues partially restored rhythmicity in SCN-lesioned mice.

Odor effects were abolished in clock mutant mice, implicating extra-SCN canonical clocks.

Conclusions:

Odor stimuli serve as a functional circadian time cue, modulating locomotor behavior.
Odor-mediated circadian effects involve extra-SCN clocks and do not strictly require the SCN.