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Related Concept Videos

Olfaction01:25

Olfaction

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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.
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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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GPCRs are primarily responsible for our sense of smell, taste, and vision.  The binding of a sensory stimulus activates GPCR to stimulate effector proteins, many of which are ion channels in the sensory organs. GPCRs modulate the opening and closing of the target ion channels either directly by binding them, or by releasing second messengers that activate these channels. As ions move across the membrane, the membrane potential is altered, which induces an appropriate response.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2025

Recording Temperature-induced Neuronal Activity through Monitoring Calcium Changes in the Olfactory Bulb of Xenopus laevis
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Amplification of Olfactory Transduction Currents Implements Sparse Stimulus Encoding.

Kai Clane Belonio1, Eyerusalem S Haile2, Zach Fyke3

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|March 17, 2025
PubMed
Summary

The calcium-activated chloride channel TMEM16B sparsens olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) representations, enhancing odor perception and navigation. TMEM16B constrains OSN output, paradoxically improving information transfer to the brain.

Keywords:
chloride channelscodingolfactionolfactory sensory neuronssensory systems

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Sensory systems require sensitivity to weak stimuli and information integrity in complex environments.
  • Olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) balance high sensitivity to odors with discriminability in complex scent landscapes.
  • The precise mechanisms by which OSNs achieve both sensitivity and sparsity remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the role of the calcium-activated chloride channel TMEM16B in OSNs.
  • Determine if TMEM16B supports dual roles of sensitivity and sparsity in the olfactory system.
  • Examine TMEM16B's function in both male and female mice.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized multiphoton microscopy to visualize OSN stimulus-response density in the olfactory epithelium.
  • Compared OSN activity and sensory representations in wild-type and TMEM16B knockout mice.
  • Assessed behavioral responses to olfactory stimuli, including odorant aversion and navigation efficiency.

Main Results:

  • TMEM16B knockout mice exhibited denser sensory representations and increased OSN response magnitudes.
  • Behaviorally, knockout mice showed heightened aversion to trimethylamine and impaired olfactory-guided navigation.
  • TMEM16B was found to paradoxically constrain OSN output despite amplifying transduction currents.

Conclusions:

  • The calcium-activated chloride channel TMEM16B plays a crucial role in sparsening peripheral olfactory sensory representations.
  • TMEM16B contributes to efficient, integrative olfactory-guided behaviors and odor perception.
  • TMEM16B's function is vital for balancing sensory sensitivity and information processing in the olfactory system.