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

49.7K
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...
49.7K
Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure01:03

Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure

13.9K
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...
13.9K
Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway01:20

Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway

13.9K
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...
13.9K
Tactile and Chemical Senses01:27

Tactile and Chemical Senses

1.2K
Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex.
1.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Combinatorial decision-making driven by multicomponent surface condensates.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Exchange Controls Coarsening of Surface Condensates.

Physical review letters·2026
Same author

An AI system to help scientists write expert-level empirical software.

Nature·2026
Same author

Minimizing co-growth as a broad predictor of community robustness.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Molecular Simulations of Phase Separation in Elastic Polymer Networks.

The journal of physical chemistry. B·2026
Same author

Simple biological controllers drive the evolution of soft modes.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Real-time In Vitro Monitoring of Odorant Receptor Activation by an Odorant in the Vapor Phase
09:53

Real-time In Vitro Monitoring of Odorant Receptor Activation by an Odorant in the Vapor Phase

Published on: April 23, 2019

7.6K

Receptor arrays optimized for natural odor statistics.

David Zwicker1, Arvind Murugan2, Michael P Brenner3

  • 1School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138; Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|April 23, 2016
PubMed
Summary

Researchers developed an information theoretic model for olfactory receptors. Optimal receptor arrays balance broad odor response and uncorrelated signals for efficient natural odor discrimination.

Keywords:
information theorymolecular recognitionnatural statisticsolfactionsensing

More Related Videos

Live-cell Measurement of Odorant Receptor Activation Using a Real-time cAMP Assay
09:11

Live-cell Measurement of Odorant Receptor Activation Using a Real-time cAMP Assay

Published on: October 2, 2017

9.6K
High-throughput Analysis of Mammalian Olfactory Receptors: Measurement of Receptor Activation via Luciferase Activity
12:02

High-throughput Analysis of Mammalian Olfactory Receptors: Measurement of Receptor Activation via Luciferase Activity

Published on: June 2, 2014

13.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Real-time In Vitro Monitoring of Odorant Receptor Activation by an Odorant in the Vapor Phase
09:53

Real-time In Vitro Monitoring of Odorant Receptor Activation by an Odorant in the Vapor Phase

Published on: April 23, 2019

7.6K
Live-cell Measurement of Odorant Receptor Activation Using a Real-time cAMP Assay
09:11

Live-cell Measurement of Odorant Receptor Activation Using a Real-time cAMP Assay

Published on: October 2, 2017

9.6K
High-throughput Analysis of Mammalian Olfactory Receptors: Measurement of Receptor Activation via Luciferase Activity
12:02

High-throughput Analysis of Mammalian Olfactory Receptors: Measurement of Receptor Activation via Luciferase Activity

Published on: June 2, 2014

13.0K

Area of Science:

  • Computational neuroscience
  • Chemosensation
  • Sensory systems biology

Background:

  • Natural odors comprise complex mixtures of molecules at varying concentrations.
  • The mechanism by which a limited number of olfactory receptors discriminate numerous odorants and their mixtures remains poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the principles governing optimal olfactory receptor array design using an information theoretic approach.
  • To predict the statistical properties of receptor-odorant affinities based on natural odor statistics.

Main Methods:

  • Developed an information theoretic model to define optimality criteria for receptor arrays.
  • Analyzed the trade-offs between concentration resolution and mixture discrimination in optimal arrays.
  • Predicted molecular statistics for receptor-odorant interactions.

Main Results:

  • Identified two key optimality criteria: balanced odor response per receptor and uncorrelated receptor activity over natural odor distributions.
  • Demonstrated that optimal arrays can be tuned for either high concentration resolution or reliable mixture discrimination.
  • Predicted specific statistics of receptor-odorant affinities consistent with broad odor repertoires.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed model provides a framework for understanding natural olfaction and designing artificial olfactory sensors.
  • Optimal receptor array design balances broad sensitivity with discriminative capacity.
  • Findings offer insights into the evolutionary pressures shaping olfactory systems and sensor technology.