PSYCH 2E03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Olfactory Receptor Neuron, Anterior Olfactory Nucleus, Olfactory Receptor
11 Oct 2016
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Odourant: volatile chemical: chemical cue/signal that gives rise to smell. Odourants take two routes to the nasal cavity: orthonasal: via the nose, retronasal: via the throat. What kind of neurons are these receptor neurons: these are bi-polar neurons. At bottom odourants come in contact with mucous. Mucous layer keeps cilia in place and allows odourants to dissolve in cilia. Odourants bind to cilia at base of sensory neurons. Supporting cells (large pink blocks) produces mucous that encase cilia, another cell type. 3 different cell types in olfactory epithelium. Researchers began to understand how olfactory sensory neurons worked by probing different parts of the neuron with odourants and measuring the neuron"s response. Significance of this experiment: researchers are stimulating either the cilia or the cell body, when stimulating cilia you get big depolarizing response, less response with cell body, discovered transduction is happening at cilia. Odourant binds to gpcr (does all transduction for olfactory cues)
