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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–5Cite as

Olfactory Bulb, The

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Synonyms

Neural Structure; Olfactory Brain; Rhinencephalon

Definition

A structure located in the forebrain of vertebrates that receives neural input about odors detected by cells in the nasal cavity.

Introduction

The environment, if filled with odorant molecules, and our emotions, moods, and behaviors may be controlled by olfactory stimuli. The first steps in processing olfactory signals are transducing and relaying odorant information centrally from olfactory receptor neurons (Purves et al. 2001). Receptor axons combine to form a large number of bundles making up the olfactory nerve. The target of the olfactory nerve on each side is the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is an evaginated cortical structure that lies on the ventral anterior aspect of the ipsilateral forebrain and contains two main types of projection neurons and interneurons that receive primary afferent input from sensory neurons (Greer et al. 2008).

The Architecture of the Olfactory Bulb

The main olfactory bulb has a...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Angela Lambrou Louca

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  1. Angela Lambrou Louca
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Correspondence to Angela Lambrou Louca .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Menelaos Apostolou

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Louca, A.L. (2018). Olfactory Bulb, The. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1016-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1016-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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