Signal recognition and chemo-electrical transduction in olfaction
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Updated: Oct 25, 2026

Multi-unit Recording Methods to Characterize Neural Activity in the Locust (Schistocerca Americana) Olfactory Circuits
Published on: January 25, 2013
1Institute of Zoophysiology, University Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
Abstract:
The mimicking of olfaction is considered to be a promising approach for the construction of artificial odour-sensing systems. In the nose, the detection of volatile odorants begins when the odorant ligands interact with specific odorant receptors in the ciliary membrane of the olfactory neurons. A large family of genes encoding putative odorant receptors has been identified recently. Individual receptor types are expressed in subsets of cells distributed in distinct zones of the olfactory epithelium. Ligand-receptor interaction triggers a rapid multistep reaction cascade, resulting in a "pulse" of second messengers that initiates an electrical response from the receptor neuron. Olfactory signalling is terminated by phosphorylation of receptors via a negative feedback reaction, catalyzed by specific kinases.
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