Lecture 25

SENSE OF SMELL
Topic: 102-105
Topic No. 102
Sense of smell; Neural code, Higher Order Processing
Functions of Olfaction
 Olfactory sense is crucial for many species’ survival
 Olfaction takes place when chemical molecules are assimilated in body.
 Gate keepers; detect good odors that need to be consumed and detect things that are bad for
body.
 Pleasant and unpleasant smells have associations and memories
Neurogenesis Sense receptors for taste and smell are exposed to harmful materials such as
bacteria and dirt. These receptors go through process of birth, development and death. Other
receptors for vision and hearing and skin are protected. Receptors for smell and taste need to be
renewed.
Human Pheromones
Chemical signals released by an individual that affect the physiology and behavior of other
individuals is known as pheromones. Menstrual synchrony is experienced by women who live or
work together often have menstrual periods at about the same time.
There is role of fragrance and scents in daily life, in feeling pleasant, neat, attractive and well. It
also has a role in special occasions such as devotional occasions, weddings and death rituals.
Sense of smell is not necessary for survival, but enhances life and protects from dangerous
consumption.
Human Odor Detection Thresholds

Rats are 8 to 50 times more sensitive to odors than humans, and dogs are from 300 to 10,000
times more sensitive, depending on the odorant (Laing, Doty, & Breipohl, 1991). Human
olfactory receptors can be excited by the action of just 1 molecule of odorant. Humans have far
fewer receptors than dogs—only about 10 million receptors, compared to one Billion for dogs.
Identifying Odors
 Humans can discriminate between as many as 100,000 different odors (Firestein, 2001)

 Knowing the correct label for the odor actually seems to transform our perception into that
odor

 Detecting absolute and difference thresholds for smell

 Forced choice Method

 Anosmia, the loss of the ability to smell as a result of injury or infection

(a) Two molecules that have the same structures, but one smells like musk and the other is
odorless. (b) Two molecules with different structures but similar odors.

Topic No. 103

Neural Code for Olfactory System
The Olfactory Mucosa
 The mucosa is a dime-sized region located high in the nasal cavity that contains the receptors
for olfaction on the roof of the nasal cavity and just below the olfactory bulb.
 Odorant molecules are carried into the nose in an air stream, which brings these molecules
into contact with the mucosa.
 Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) are located in the mucosa and the supporting cells.
The structure of the olfactory system

 Odorant molecules flow over the olfactory mucosa, which contains 350 different types of
olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs).
 Three types of ORNs are shown here, indicated by different colors. Each type has its own
specialized receptor.
 Like rods and cones, ORNs are proteins that cross the membrane of receptor neuron
 Linda Buck and Richard Axel (1991), received the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology and
Medicine for their research on the olfactory system.
 Activation of receptors in the mucosa causes electrical signals in the ORNs that are
distributed across the mucosa. These ORNs send signals to structures called glomeruli in the
olfactory bulb.
(a) A portion of the olfactory mucosa, 350 types of ORNs and about 10,000 of each type. The
red circles = 10,000 of one type of ORN, the blue circles = 10,000 of another type. (b) All ORNs
of a particular type send their signals to one or two glomeruli in the olfactory bulb.
Techniques for studying olfactory process
 Calcium Imaging; concentration of calcium ions (Ca++) increases inside the ORN when
receptor responds soaking olfactory neurons in a chemical, ORN to fluoresce green glow
when exposed to ultraviolet (380 nm)Light.

 Optical imaging used to measure the activity of large areas of the olfactory bulb by
measuring how much red light reflected.

Topic No. 104

Higher Order Olfactory Processing
Mode of olfactory perception that relies on processes beyond the pattern of firing in olfactory
receptors, involves the cortex, responses to more complicated odorants than hardwired responses,
always the same for a given chemical. For example in kitchen, many smells are experienced at
Iftar time. Aroma is created by more than 100 different molecules.

The underside of the brain, showing the

neural pathways for olfaction. On the left
side, the temporal lobe has been deflected
to expose the olfactory cortex. (Adapted
from Frank & Rabin, 1989.)
Flow diagram of the pathways for olfaction
 When an onion smell is labeled “pizza,” people perceive it more positively than if it is
labeled “body odor” (Herz, 2003).

 adding red coloring to white wine causes wine tasters to describe the aroma of the white wine
in terms usually associated with red wine (Morrot et al., 2001)

 Learning can also influence odor perception, odors that have been paired with sucrose are
judged to smell sweeter when they are later presented alone (Stevenson, 200)
Many molecules creating a single perception like “coffee” or “ kebabs”. We have the ability to
separate odors from one another in the environment. The effect of past experience and learning
on odor perception indicate that odor perception must involve more than just a hardwired
“readout” of the pattern of ORN firing. Individual compounds cause widespread activity across
the piriform Cortex. The neurons in the piriform cortex can learn to discriminate between
different odors. This learning may be involved in our ability to tell the difference between
different odors in the environment. Neurons in the piriform cortex do not, therefore, always
respond in exactly the same way to a particular odorant, but can change their response
In an experiment a test odor was presented, which was a mixture of isovaleric acid (which smells
like sweat) and cheddar cheese flavoring. As participants smelled the test odour they saw the
words “cheddar cheese” on some trials and “body odor” on other trials. When asked to rate the
pleasantness of the odors, participants rated the test odour as more pleasant when it was labeled
“cheddar cheese” than when it was labeled “body odour.” Ivan de Araujo and coworkers (2005).
Differences in pleasantness ratings were associated with differences in activity in the
orbitofrontal cortex, measured by fMRI, with higher pleasantness ratings being associated with
more activity in the orbitofrontal cortex. Different labels caused the same chemical (the test
odor) to result in different perceptions of pleasantness, and these different perceptions were
reflected in the activity in the orbitofrontal cortex.
Pattern of ORNs activated by the test odor is the same no matter what the label, the differences
caused by the label must be a higher order “cognitive” effect. The results of experiments on both
the piriform and orbitofrontal cortex, therefore, show that to fully understand olfaction, we need
to look beyond the pattern of activation of olfactory receptor neurons.

Topic No. 105

Higher order olfactory processing
 We can differentiate between many different
smells in environment for example aromas
from kitchen

 Olfactory stimulus activate many areas in brain

 People’s past experiences or expectations can

influence their perception

 Research on the physiology of higher-order

processes has focused on the piriform cortex
and the orbitofrontal cortex
Piriform cortex of rat; Isoamyl acetate causes activation across the cortex. Other compounds also
cause widespread activity, and there is substantial overlap between the patterns of activity for
different compounds (Rennaker and coworkers (2007). In the mucosa and olfactory bulb activity
is more localized and doesn’t overlap as much for different compounds. This overlapping
activity may mean that the piriform cortex is involved in the process of perceiving complex
Odours such as “coffee” or “french fries” created from the overlapping activity of many
different odorant molecules (Wilson & Stevenson, 2006).

Areas in the olfactory bulb that are activated by various chemicals: (a) a series of carbolic acids;
(b) a series of aliphatic alcohols (Uchida, Talahashi, Tanifuji ., & Mori, 2000)

Higher Human consciousness

Human connections persist. Infants sense mothers smell before they recognize faces. Pets can
recognize their masters from their smell. People who leave for other world are remembered by
the way they smelled.
Perfume and intimacy are closely linked. And Scent has been seen as erotic as well as sacred for
centuries in all cultures.