PSYC 110 Chapter Notes - Chapter lecture 19: Olfactory Bulb, Absolute Threshold, Chemical Substance
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A sou(cid:374)d"s per(cid:272)ei(cid:448)ed loud(cid:374)ess is proportio(cid:374)al to ph(cid:455)si(cid:272)al i(cid:374)te(cid:374)sit(cid:455)(cid:895) Basic facts of smell: roughly 350 different types of sensory neurons exist in olfactory nerves. The receptive ends of each type are most responsive to particular types odorant molecules that reach the olfactory epithelium in the nose: these different types of neurons are connected to corresponding parts of the olfactory bulb. Telling people apart by smell: mothers and infants quickly learn to recognize each others scents, odor allows mice and perhaps humans to choose mates that will enhance genetic variety in their offspring, play a role in incest avoidance. Communicating by smell: many animals (unsure about humans) have pheromones, a chemical substance that allow them to release it to attract a specific response from other animals physiological or behavior response. Female cabbage moths send these off and male cabbage moths understand and come from 7 miles away.
