The Olfactory: The Chemistry Of Smell

What is a Fragrance Chemist? A fragrance chemist is a researcher who conducts experiments to create scents for household products and cosmetics. These scientists frequently work in labs creating fragrances that will not adversely affect consumer such as making it a hypoallergenic. These scientists test the chemical components to ensure that they do not react negatively when added to the product. These experts have to follow the correct guidelines when handling chemicals in order to avoid the dangers of any safety or health hazards(Ford).

Smell, on the other hand, is the sense that comes from odor molecules attaching to the olfactory nerve. Air carries the odor into the nose. Then odor contacts the olfactory nerves at the top of the nasal passages. The the olfactory nerves send a signal to the olfactory bulb of the brain, and the nerve sends a signal to the front of the brain. The forebrain translates the signals of the odor into a specific smell (Swindle, Mark).

These receptors record on a extensive form of sensory modalities including changes in temperature, stress, touch, sound, mild, style, odor, physique and limb actions, and even blood pressure and chemistry. Scientists have recognized for nearly a hundred thirty years that distinct afferent nerve fibers of the peripheral nervous procedure are in contact with specialized non neural receptive buildings which realize and transmit sensory knowledge from the periphery to the Central Nervous System. The non neural receptive structure in conjunction with its afferent nerve fiber is mainly called a

Response: That specific cranial nerve is the Hypoglossal (XII) nerve and it belongs to the Sensory Somatic nervous system.

The nasal septum divides the medially into the right and left portion. The nasal septum separates the cranial cavity by the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone and by the oral cavity by the hand palate. Passageways called the superior, middle and inferior meatuses are the nasal conchae or turbinate bone that curl out from the lateral walls of the nasal cavity on each side. Nasal conchae support the mucous membranes that line the nasal cavity that help increase the surface area. The upper posterior portion of the nasal cavity is slit like and lines and contains the factory receptors that give use the sense of smell. The rest of the cavity conducts air to and from the nasopharynx.

Ani Lui explained the importance of smell and how we can use it to fix are problems in life. “Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary, and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains” (Diane Ackerman).On Ted Talk, Lui talked about how smell can be a huge resource to our everyday life.The show was called “Smelfes, and other experiments in synthetic biology”. She showed pictures of fruits like strawberries that could grow its own fruit. Ani Lui is from EIT lab, a designer. She sorts out science fiction and science fact. At their lab, they study artificial life and objects. Back in the 19-century women would put an apple under there underarm. If the man ate the apple that meant

There are 12 Cranial Nerves which all serve a very important purpose within each and every one of our bodies. The twelve cranial nerves are Olfactory, Optic, Oculomotor, Trochlear, Trigeminal, Abducens, Facial, Vestibulocochlear, Glossopharyngeal, Vagus, Accessory, and last but certain not least Hypoglossal. Each nerve plays a different role for example the Olfactory nerve gives sense to smell, and the Optic nerve gives us sense of vision. The Oculomotor give us the motor skills to adjust the size of our pupils, raise our eyelids, etc. This particular nerve is also parasympathetic to the pupil, which causes accommodation as well as constriction. Another nerve that has to do with our motor skills is the Trochlear nerve, which allows the eye

The sensory receptor detects the presence of a stimulus in the skin, muscle, or other organ. The sensory neuron, which is also the afferent neuron, carries sensory information to the central nervous system. The integrating center is found only in gray matter of the central nervous system in the brain or spinal cord. This is where information is processed, and the motor command to stimulate the effector is initiated. The motor neuron, also called the efferent neuron, carries the motor command to the effector organ. Finally, the effector organ carries out the response to the stimulus, which may be to a muscle, gland or adipose tissue.

The fifth cranial nerve out of 12 is known as the trigeminal nerve. Cranial nerves are located in the brain and each have a different function. The trigeminal nerve is located in between the oculomotor nerve and the facial nerve. The trigeminal nerve performs sensor functions that involve the teeth, tongue, nose, and eyes and is covered by a myelin sheath. A myelin sheath is the protective coating that is usually found around nerves. Trigeminal neuralgia also known as TN, is a painful disease that affects the trigeminal nerve. The disorder causes severe, sporadic, sudden burning or shock-like face pain that can last as short as a few seconds to as long as two minutes per episode of pain. Patients suffering from the disorder may sometimes

The odor must pass through the epithelial cells located in each nasal cavity by means of a large inhalation of air through the nose. Once the odor passes through the epithelium, it must pass through the mucous from the cilia by odorant-binding proteins. When the g-protein is activated it triggers a converted form of adenylate cyclase into cAMP which opens ion channels allowing calcium and sodium ions to enter the cell. This process turns the odor into a neural signal the brain can then interpret. Once this signal is created, the axons of olfactory neurons carry the stimuli to the olfactory bulb and then to the primary olfactory cortex within the temporal lobe. This process can take just a few seconds through the rapid firing of synapses within the receptors. The processing of an odor leads to a reaction depending on the type of scent being processed. Olfaction is just one of the five special senses that make up how stimuli is perceived on a daily basis (Amerman,

“Stop and smell the roses” is a famous idiomatic reference many make when they want to convey the importance of appreciating the beauty of life. But have any of us imagined what it may be like to NOT smell the roses or anything for that matter? Humans often take their sense of smell for granted, as they rely more heavily on sight and sound in day-to-day activities. Yet smell-in my opinion- can be such an important aspect of life as the brain has the capability to associate smells with danger and it can even elicit memories. For example, the odor of smoke notifies us that something dangerous could be happening, or walking into a bakery with the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies can cause pleasure, bringing back childhood memories

Olfaction, also known as sense of smell, is the detection and recognition of chemicals that contact membranes inside the nose. Substances that we can smell in the air, or small airborne molecules, are called odorants. Odorants bind to olfactory receptor proteins (G-protein-coupled receptors) in the cilia of the olfactory sensory neuron to employ a second-messenger system to respond to the presence of odorants. The sense of smell begins with receptor neurons in the nose. The olfactory epithelium is responsible for detecting odors and has three types of cells: olfactory sensory neurons (OSN), basal cells and supporting cells. Odorants depolarize olfactory receptor cells (or OSN) through axons that travel through the cribriform plate—a bony barrier between the nose and brain. The olfactory sensory neurons axons send

Studies have shown that if you have brain damage, it is known to have affected the ability to smell. The sense of taste creates an awareness of whether or not something put in the mouth is safe to eat. There are five basic tastes, salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami. Umami is a savory taste of a chemical called glutamate. It is found in foods such as bacon, corn, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc. “The taste organ is a collection of specialized cells called taste buds.” There are about 10,000 taste buds on the tongue(top), and more in the throat, soft palate, soft tissue found at the back of the roof of the mouth, and the epiglottis, the flap of cartilage at the bottom\base of tongue. On the top and sides of your tongue, there small bumps called lingual papillae. Three out of 4 types contain taste buds. On the sides, there are the foliate papillae, which appear as a series of ridges. The small, rounded projections found all over the tongue, especially at the and top of sides, are the fungiform papillae. Each of these contain only 5 taste buds. “There are only 5-12 of the largest papillae, called the circumvallate papillae, but they contain more than 250 taste buds

Smell is based on sensors that detects different chemicals. “Your ability to smell comes from specialized sensory cells, called olfactory sensory neurons, which are found in a small patch of tissue high inside the nose. These cells connect directly to the brain. Each olfactory neuron has one odor receptor.”2 The sensors go off and then its sends a message to your brain. “Once the neurons detect the molecules, they send messages to your brain, which identifies the smell.”2

The olfactory nerve is a sensory nerve. It transports the information for the sense of smell. The olfactory nerve is the only nerve that originates in the frontal lobe of the brain and its fibers pass through the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone to reach the upper nasal passages. There its receptors collect sensory information in the form of changes in chemical concentrations of substances that are interpreted by the cerebral cortex as smell. The olfactory nerves enter the olfactory bulbs located near the crista galli of the ethmoid bone before entering the