Lecture 18
SENSE OF SMELL
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.
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.
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.
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.
