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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: Jan 11, 2026

High-throughput Analysis of Mammalian Olfactory Receptors: Measurement of Receptor Activation via Luciferase Activity

High-throughput Analysis of Mammalian Olfactory Receptors: Measurement of Receptor Activation via Luciferase Activity

Published on: June 2, 2014

Stable olfactory receptor activation across odor complexity.

Minseok Kim^1,2, Jeongyoon Lee³, Inah Park²

¹Department of Brain Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, 333 Techno Jungang-daero, Hyeonpung-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu 42988, Republic of Korea.

|November 17, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The olfactory system primarily uses linear integration for complex odor mixtures, with some non-linear responses adding specificity. This efficient coding prevents receptor saturation, even with increasing odorant components.

Keywords:

Biological sciences Natural sciences Neuroscience Sensory neuroscience

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Last Updated: Jan 11, 2026

High-throughput Analysis of Mammalian Olfactory Receptors: Measurement of Receptor Activation via Luciferase Activity

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Published on: June 2, 2014

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

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Published on: April 23, 2019

Live-cell Measurement of Odorant Receptor Activation Using a Real-time cAMP Assay

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Published on: October 2, 2017

Area of Science:

Olfactory neuroscience
Sensory processing
Molecular biology

Background:

Single odorant receptor activation is understood, but complex mixture processing is unclear.
Investigating olfactory receptor activation patterns in response to odor mixtures is crucial for understanding sensory coding.
Existing models struggle to explain how the olfactory system handles diverse odorant combinations.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine olfactory receptor activation patterns across varying odor complexities.
To determine if odor mixture responses follow linear or non-linear integration models.
To understand how the olfactory system achieves efficient coding and avoids receptor saturation.

Main Methods:

Utilized phosphoTRAP analysis to measure olfactory receptor activation.
Tested responses to single odorants and various odor mixtures.
Compared experimental mixture responses to predictions from linear summation models.

Main Results:

Most odor mixtures showed receptor activation patterns closely matching the linear sum of individual components.
A subset of receptors exhibited non-linear responses not explained by linear models.
Total activated receptors remained constant across odor complexities, indicating efficient coding and preventing saturation.

Conclusions:

The olfactory system primarily encodes complex odors via linear integration of receptor activity.
Non-linear responses in specific receptors contribute additional coding specificity.
Findings advance the understanding of olfactory system's normalization of receptor activation for natural odors.