NEUROSC M101A Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Adenylyl Cyclase, Piriform Cortex, Olfactory Bulb
Document Summary
Smell important to finding mates, escaping predators, finding food. Airborne stimuli activate receptors in the olfactory epithelium -> olfactory bulb -> sent to different regions of brain. >(from pyriform cortex only) directly to orbitofrontal cortex. >(from entorhinal cortex only) directly to hippocampal formation. Animals have heightened olfactory perception, based on number of olfactory receptor neurons, and surface area of olfactory epithelium. Shark can smell certain substances 1000x better than humans. Size of olfactory bulb in dogs is huge compared to human. Olfactory receptor neurons in the epithelium are true neurons. The air we breathe contains chemicals that are delivered to the cilia. Once the odorants bind olfactory receptors, we activate the receptors, leading to the perception of smell. Basal cells give rise to new olfactory receptors. Neurons interact with olfactory receptors and send that info to the brain. Olfactory receptors are true neurons that connect to cns. Very defined division between olfactory and respiratory activity.
