Olfaction is another word for the sense of smell. In this video, I summarize the process of olfaction beginning with the olfactory receptors found in the olfactory epithelium. I follow the path of olfactory information until it reaches the olfactory cortex, where most olfactory processing in the brain occurs.

TRANSCRIPT:

Welcome to 2 minute neuroscience, where I explain neuroscience topics in 2 minutes or less. In this installment I will discuss olfaction.

Olfaction refers to the sense of smell, which begins with a specialized collection of cells called the olfactory epithelium. In humans, the olfactory epithelium lines the nasal cavities. The olfactory epithelium contains millions of olfactory receptor cells. These cells have a single dendrite that extends to the outermost layer of the epithelium, where cilia emerge from the end of the dendrite and spread over the surface of the olfactory epithelium. When odorants enter the nasal cavity due to inhalation or by rising from the mouth during the chewing of food, they stimulate receptors on the cilia, depolarizing the olfactory receptor cells and initiating action potentials that travel down the axon of the receptor cell into an adjacent structure called the olfactory bulb. These axons that travel from the olfactory epithelium to the olfactory bulb together make up the first cranial nerve.

In the olfactory bulb the axons of the olfactory receptor cells converge on the dendrites of olfactory bulb neurons in small clusters called glomeruli. In these glomeruli, the receptor cells form synaptic connections with several types of olfactory bulb neurons, including cells called mitral cells and tufted relay neurons. Both of these cells project into the olfactory tract, a bundle of fibers that carries olfactory information to the olfactory cortex, where most olfactory processing occurs.

The olfactory cortex consists of a collection of cortical areas that receive information from the olfactory bulb, including the piriform cortex, an area of cortex surrounding the amygdala known as the periamygdaloid cortex, entorhinal cortex, and two regions known as the olfactory tubercle and anterior olfactory nucleus.

REFERENCE:

Vanderah TW, Gould DJ. Nolte's The Human Brain. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA. Elsevier; 2016.


Caption author (Arabic): Shwan Hameed