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

44.1K
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...
44.1K
Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure01:03

Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure

8.7K
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...
8.7K
Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway01:20

Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway

7.8K
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...
7.8K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Transformer brain encoders explain human high-level visual responses.

ArXiv·2026
Same author

Ecological cues orchestrate concerted courtship in a <i>Drosophila</i> host specialist.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution in <i>Drosophila</i>.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Social state alters vision using three circuit mechanisms in Drosophila.

Nature·2024
Same author

A modular circuit coordinates the diversification of courtship strategies.

Nature·2024
Same author

A mathematical theory of relational generalization in transitive inference.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2025

Visually Mediated Odor Tracking During Flight in Drosophila
08:50

Visually Mediated Odor Tracking During Flight in Drosophila

Published on: January 26, 2009

9.9K

A vector-based strategy for olfactory navigation in Drosophila.

Andrew F Siliciano1,2, Sun Minni1,3, Chad Morton1,2

  • 1These authors contributed equally to this work.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|February 24, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Fruit flies use memory to navigate odor plumes by tracking boundaries. This research reveals how memory mechanisms in the fly brain guide odor-based navigation strategies.

More Related Videos

Using Insect Electroantennogram Sensors on Autonomous Robots for Olfactory Searches
07:23

Using Insect Electroantennogram Sensors on Autonomous Robots for Olfactory Searches

Published on: August 4, 2014

22.9K
Quadruple Immunostaining of the Olfactory Bulb for Visualization of Olfactory Sensory Axon Molecular Identity Codes
06:32

Quadruple Immunostaining of the Olfactory Bulb for Visualization of Olfactory Sensory Axon Molecular Identity Codes

Published on: June 5, 2017

7.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 26, 2025

Visually Mediated Odor Tracking During Flight in Drosophila
08:50

Visually Mediated Odor Tracking During Flight in Drosophila

Published on: January 26, 2009

9.9K
Using Insect Electroantennogram Sensors on Autonomous Robots for Olfactory Searches
07:23

Using Insect Electroantennogram Sensors on Autonomous Robots for Olfactory Searches

Published on: August 4, 2014

22.9K
Quadruple Immunostaining of the Olfactory Bulb for Visualization of Olfactory Sensory Axon Molecular Identity Codes
06:32

Quadruple Immunostaining of the Olfactory Bulb for Visualization of Olfactory Sensory Axon Molecular Identity Codes

Published on: June 5, 2017

7.1K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Animal Behavior
  • Olfactory Navigation

Background:

  • Odor plumes are crucial for animal navigation, but the role of memory in tracking them is not fully understood.
  • Previous models often treated odor plume tracking as a purely reflexive process.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether animals, specifically *Drosophila*, can utilize memories of past odor encounters for spatial inference and navigation.
  • To explore how memory mechanisms influence navigational strategies in structured chemical landscapes.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a virtual-reality olfactory paradigm for head-fixed *Drosophila*.
  • Combination of behavioral modeling, functional calcium imaging, and neural perturbations.
  • Analysis of neural activity in the central complex, specifically FC2 neurons in the fan-shaped body.

Main Results:

  • Flies employ an 'edge-tracking' strategy to follow odor corridors, alternating between exiting and returning to the plume boundary.
  • This strategy relies on vector-based computations within the central complex, involving memory of the direction back to the plume.
  • FC2 neurons signal the direction to the odor boundary when flies are outside the plume.

Conclusions:

  • Flies leverage odor plume boundaries as dynamic landmarks, integrating memory into their navigation.
  • Odor plume tracking utilizes conserved navigational mechanisms, allowing memory-based navigation in complex chemical environments.
  • This study provides insight into the neural basis of memory-guided olfactory navigation.