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

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...

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Multi-unit Recording Methods to Characterize Neural Activity in the Locust Schistocerca Americana Olfactory Circuits

Multi-unit Recording Methods to Characterize Neural Activity in the Locust Schistocerca Americana Olfactory Circuits

Published on: January 25, 2013

Dynamic Encoding of Odors With Oscillating Neuronal Assemblies in the Locust Brain.

G Laurent, M Wehr, K Macleod

The Biological Bulletin

|December 9, 2017

Summary

The brain encodes complex odors using distributed neural ensembles, varying in neuron identity and response timing. Periodic synchronization may also play a role in this olfactory processing.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Olfactory System Research
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Understanding how the brain processes complex sensory information, like natural odors, remains a significant challenge.
The computational principles governing olfactory encoding are not fully elucidated.

Purpose of the Study:

To review findings from insect olfactory systems.
To propose a hypothesis for odor representation in the brain.

Main Methods:

Review of existing research on insect olfaction.
Hypothetical modeling of neural ensemble activity.

Main Results:

Odor representation involves neuronal ensembles distributed in both space (neuron identity) and time (response timing).
This distributed coding allows for the representation of complex, multidimensional odor stimuli.

Conclusions:

The brain likely uses spatially and temporally distributed neuronal ensembles for odor coding.
Periodic synchronization, or neural oscillations, may contribute to the precise timing and integration of olfactory information.