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A nomenclature system has been devised for the olfactory receptor family [33] and is the basis for the official Human Genome Project symbols for the genes that encode these receptors. The names of individual olfactory receptor family members are in the format "ORnXm" where: OR is the root name (Olfactory Receptor superfamily)
Inside of these olfactory organs there are neurons called olfactory receptor neurons which, as the name implies, house receptors for scent molecules in their cell membranes. The majority of olfactory receptor neurons typically reside in the antenna. These neurons can be very abundant, for example Drosophila flies have 2,600 olfactory sensory ...
The olfactory receptor proteins are members of a large family of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) arising from single coding-exon genes. Olfactory receptors share a 7-transmembrane domain structure with many neurotransmitters and hormone receptors and are responsible for the recognition and G protein-mediated transduction of odorant signals. [5]
The axons of OSNs expressing the same odorant receptors converge onto the same glomerulus at the olfactory bulb, allowing for the organization of olfactory information. An olfactory receptor neuron (ORN), also called an olfactory sensory neuron (OSN), is a sensory neuron within the olfactory system. [2]
The main olfactory system detects airborne substances, while the accessory system senses fluid-phase stimuli. The senses of smell and taste (gustatory system) are often referred to together as the chemosensory system, because they both give the brain information about the chemical composition of objects through a process called transduction.
The perception of odors, or sense of smell, is mediated by the olfactory nerve. The olfactory receptor (OR) cells are neurons present in the olfactory epithelium, which is a small patch of tissue at the back of the nasal cavity. There are millions of olfactory receptor neurons that act as sensory signaling cells.
The olfactory bulb transmits smell information from the nose to the brain, and is thus necessary for a proper sense of smell. As a neural circuit, the glomerular layer receives direct input from afferent nerves, made up of the axons from approximately ten million olfactory receptor neurons in the olfactory mucosa, a region of the nasal cavity.
The main olfactory sense is derived from the more ancient neural system, broadly present across insects and mammals. [23] This system is specialized to detect volatile, airborne molecules. The accessory olfactory system is the more recently evolved structure, first appearing in the common ancestor of modern amniotes and amphibians.