Background: The Olfactory System
When odorants enter the nasal cavity, they bind to odorant receptors at the base of the olfactory epithelium. These receptors are bipolar neurons that project to the glomerular layer of the olfactory bulb, traveling through the cribriform plate. At the glomerular layer, axons from the olfactory receptor neurons intermingle with dendrites from intrinsic olfactory bulb neurons: mitrial/tufted cells and dopaminergic periglomerular cells. From the olfactory bulb, mitral/tufted cells send axons via the lateral olfactory tract (the cranial nerve I) to the olfactory cortex, which includes the piriform cortex, entorhinal cortex, and parts of the amygdala. From the entorhinal cortex, axons extend to the medial dorsal nucleus of the thalamus, which then proceed to the orbitofrontal cortex.
Read more about this topic: Hyperosmia
Famous quotes containing the word system:
“How natural that the errors of the ancient should be handed down and, mixing with the principles and system which Christ taught, give to us an adulterated Christianity.”
—Olympia Brown (1835–1900)