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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...

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: Nov 18, 2025

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

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

Published on: April 23, 2019

Acute Systemic Experimental Inflammation Does Not Reduce Human Odor Identification Performance.

Arnaud Tognetti¹, Georgia Sarolidou¹, Julie Lasselin^1,2,3

¹Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Chemical Senses

|February 4, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Acute systemic inflammation does not impair odor identification. This study suggests chronic inflammation, not transient, may cause olfactory dysfunction in diseases.

Keywords:

MONEX-40 interleukin-6 (IL-6)interleukin-8 (IL-8)lipopolysaccharide odor identification performance tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Immunology
Sensory Science

Background:

Olfactory dysfunction is common in various diseases, but its cause is unclear.
Local inflammation of the olfactory epithelium is linked to olfactory dysfunction.
The role of systemic inflammation in olfactory dysfunction requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether acute systemic inflammation impairs olfactory identification performance.
To model transient systemic inflammation using experimental endotoxemia.

Main Methods:

A double-blind, within-subject study with 20 healthy young adults.
Administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or placebo to induce systemic inflammation.
Assessment of odor identification using the MONEX-40 test.

Main Results:

Acute systemic inflammation induced by LPS did not affect olfactory identification performance.
Odor identification was not correlated with levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α).

Conclusions:

Transient systemic inflammation is unlikely to be the primary cause of olfactory deficits.
Chronic systemic inflammation is a more plausible mechanism for olfactory dysfunction in inflammatory diseases.