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Mechanisms of Olfaction

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Abstract

Molecular mechanisms of olfaction have been intensively studied in the last quarter century. Receptors by which olfactory stimuli are detected are vastly different between different animal species and even between different olfactory organs of the same species. This chapter includes a description of the anatomy of the mammalian olfactory system and an overview of the receptors. The signaling mechanism and expression pattern of these receptors is discussed along with how the brain decodes olfactory information gathered from the environment and then translates these signals into behaviors. This chapter also contains brief comparison of the fish, insect and nematode olfactory receptors.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Helena You and Naihua Natalie Gong for editing. NIH supports the work of the Matsunami lab.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, 27710, Durham, NC, USA

    Ruchira Sharma & Hiroaki Matsunami

  2. Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, 27710, Durham, NC, USA

    Hiroaki Matsunami

  3. Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, 27710, Durham, NC, USA

    Hiroaki Matsunami

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  1. Ruchira Sharma
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  2. Hiroaki Matsunami
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Correspondence to Ruchira Sharma .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

    Tai Hyun Park

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Sharma, R., Matsunami, H. (2014). Mechanisms of Olfaction. In: Park, T. (eds) Bioelectronic Nose. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8613-3_2

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