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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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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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Sensory receptors play an integral part in comprehending our external and internal environments. They receive diverse stimuli, converting them into the nervous system's electrochemical signals. This conversion occurs as the stimulus alters the sensory neuron's cell membrane potential, instigating the generation of an action potential. This action potential is subsequently transmitted to the central nervous system (CNS), which integrates with other sensory data or higher cognitive...
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Real-time In Vitro Monitoring of Odorant Receptor Activation by an Odorant in the Vapor Phase
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Human olfactory perception embeds fine temporal resolution within a single sniff.

Yuli Wu1,2, Kepu Chen1, Chen Xing1,2

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Nature Human Behaviour
|October 14, 2024
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Humans can distinguish odorants presented within a single sniff, challenging the idea of olfaction as a long-exposure sense. This olfactory perception is sensitive to chemical dynamics, revealing a temporal code for odour identity.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Science
  • Olfactory Perception

Background:

  • Human olfaction is traditionally viewed as a slow process, limited by sniff duration.
  • Existing models suggest olfaction captures a static chemical snapshot, not dynamic changes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate olfactory perception's sensitivity to rapid chemical dynamics within a single sniff.
  • To determine the temporal resolution of odour discrimination during inhalation.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a novel apparatus for precise, millisecond-level control of odorant delivery during sniffs.
  • Conducted psychophysical experiments with 229 participants over 649 sessions.
  • Analyzed the perceptual discriminability of odorant sequences with varying stimulus onset asynchrony.

Main Results:

  • Participants could discriminate two odorants presented sequentially with an onset asynchrony as short as 60 milliseconds.
  • Discrimination performance improved with increasing stimulus onset asynchrony.
  • Perceptual ability was independent of explicit knowledge of odorant order or concentration.

Conclusions:

  • Human olfactory perception is highly sensitive to the temporal dynamics of odorant mixtures within a single sniff.
  • Demonstrated behavioral evidence for a temporal code underlying odour identity.
  • Challenges the long-held view of olfaction as a static chemical sensing modality.