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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

THE SENSE OF SMELL

WHAT IS THE SENCE OF SMELL?

  • One of the five senses of the body.
  • Undergone thousands of times a day.
  • Used to precive and interpret odors.

PARTS OF THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM

  • Nose
  • Nostrils
  • Nasal Cavity
  • Lungs
  • Mucous Membranes
Photo by lovestruck.

PARTS OF THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM (2)

  • Olfactoroy Receptor Neurons
  • Olfactory Epithelium
  • Olfactory Nerves
  • Olfactory Bulbs
  • Hippocampus
  • Amygdala
  • Thalamus
  • Neocortex
Photo by ro0ter

HOW OLFACTION WORKS

  • Air is inhaled through the nostrils and into the nose.
  • Odor molecules in the air are filtered through nasal hairs and stick to mucous in the olfactory epithelium.
  • Molelcules in the mucous dissolve and bind to olfactory receptor neurons.
  • Neurons use molecule size to detect odors.
  • Each olfactory neuron can detect only one specific odor, and when that odor is detected, an electrical impulses is triggered.

HOW OLFACTION WORKS (2)

  • The impulses combine in the olfactory nerves and are carried to the olfactory bulbs.
  • The olfactory bulbs process the specific combination of impulses into smells.
  • From the bulbs, the smells travel to the amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, and neocortex, where they are processed, put into your consciousness, and stored in memory.
Photo by Dave77459

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SMELL AND TASTE

  • Smell and taste are very closely related.
  • Taste is used to determine the texture of food and if it's sweet, salty, bitter, sour, etc., while smell is used to distinguish 75-90% of flavors.
  • When you chew food, odors rise up into the nasal cavity where they are prossed into flavors and combined with your sense of taste.
  • Without smell, you wouldn't be able to distinguish or savor many foods.
Photo by Gerg1967

SMELL AND MEMORY

  • Many times, people experience a phenomenon where a signal sniff can trigger a memory from their childhood. This is because smell is the closest sense related to memory.
  • Smell is processed in the olfactory bulbs which are part of the limbic system of the brain. This area contains the amygdala and hippocampus, which process emotion and memory.
  • When olfactory bulbs are stimuled, the neurons in the hippocampus and amygdala can be too, triggering strong memories and emotions.
Photo by VinothChandar

OLFACTORY DISORDERS

  • About 15% of elderly people have an olfactory disorder.
  • Caused by smoking, genetics, aging, hormonal disturbances, infections, head injuries, chemicals, radiation, and other diseases.
  • Anosmia - Can't smell specific scents or can't smell at all.
  • Hyposmia - Worsened sense of smell.
  • Parosmia - Odors smell different than normal.

SMELL IN ANIMALS

  • Smell is extremely important in animals.
  • Animals rely on their sense of smell to see and find pray.
  • Determined by the size of their olfactory epithelium and concretion of olfactory cells in it.
  • Dogs have an olfactory epithelium 20x bigger than humans with 100x the cell concentration.
Photo by wsilver

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SENSE OF SMELL

  • Move your nose closer to what you're smelling.
  • Use quick, jerky sniffs.
  • After you smell, think about the smell and try to describe it.
Photo by Ennor

WHY DOES SMELL MATTER?

  • Helps animals tell apart objects and find pray.
  • Helps attract mates.
  • Helps us express ourselves.
  • Alerts us of dangers such as fires and gas leaks.
  • Is pleasing.
Photo by kimberlykv

FUN FACTS

  • The main smells are camphor, musk, floral, peppermint, ether, pungent, and putrid.
  • Humans have forty million olfactory neurons.
  • Although we can detect 1 trillion different smells, most are similar, and we can only tell apart 10,000.
  • Women have a better sense of smell than men.
  • People smell worse in the morning and best in the summer.
  • Smell lose is related to race.

REFERENCES

  • George, Nancie. "10 Incredible Facts About Your Sense of Smell." EverydayHealth.com. Everyday Health, 03 Oct. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. . "How Do We Smell? - Rose Eveleth." YouTube. N.p., 19 Dec. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. .

REFERENCES (2)

  • "How Smells Trigger Memories." YouTube. N.p., 20 July 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. . "How to Master Your Sense of Smell - Alexandra Horowitz." YouTube. N.p., 09 Jan. 2017. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. . "The Smell Report." The Smell Report - The Human Sense of Smell. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. .

REFERENCES (3)

  • "How Smell Works." HowStuffWorks. N.p., 29 Oct. 2007. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.
  • "Taste & Smell: Crash Course A&P #16." YouTube. N.p., 27 Apr. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. .
  • "Taste & Smell: Crash Course A&P #16." YouTube. N.p., 27 Apr. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. .