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The olfactory bulb is a small , match-head sized organ in the top of the nasal cavity,and is connected to hundreds of olfactory hairs, or cilia, which lie in a layer of mucous. These have receptor sites, and it is still not well understood how these work, but one theory is that the shape of the molecule (of the substance being smelt) and the way in which it locks onto the receptor determines the impulses sent to the brain. (the bulb is thought of as a direct extension of the brain) If this is true, it may help explain why with prolonged exposure to a smell, you will stop smelling it until you go outside and clear the nose and come back.The receptor sites become saturated with the molcules and stop sending nerve impulses.

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7y ago
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10y ago

Path is from olfactory receptors of roof of the nasal cavity - (via axons of receptors projecting as first cranial nerve) - olfactory bulb - (via axons of mitral cells projecting as olfactory tract) - olfactory cortex - (via mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus) -insular cortex (taste integrates with smell to produce flavor) + orbitofrontal cortex (odor-taste association learning at single neuron level).

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9y ago

The afferent neurons carry the nerve impulses from receptors to the central nervous system. This is a closed loop through activity of the afferent neurons, interneurons and efferent neurons.

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13y ago

first your nose smells it, then it sends it to your brain. open up a book! why look it up on the internet?

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Q: What is the pathway of smell from the olfactory receptors to the brain?
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Related questions

What is the relationship between olfactory and gustatory receptors?

Gustatory receptors are part of the sense of taste. They are in your mouth. Olfactory receptors are part of the sense of smell. They are in your nose.


What structures are the receptors for the sense of smell?

The receptors that actually bind with the molecules that we smell are called Olfactory receptor neurons. They pass their signal through the caribform plate, then down the olfactory nerve, and finally to the olfactory bulb in the brain.


What impulses are transmitted by the sense of smell?

The smell receptors are called olfactory nerves


Why can you smell?

We have an olfactory bulb at the base of our brain that has nerve receptors leading into our nasal cavity. When certain particles come in contact with these receptors, the olfactory bulb sends its message to another part of the brain in the limbic region.


What kind of receptors are the olfactory receptors?

the detect smell


How do olfactory receptors work to make smell possible?

The olfactory bulb is actually a tiny lobe of the brain. There are many thousands of different cell types in the olfactory bulb, each with receptors for different chemicals. When these receptors bind to their matching chemical in the air they become excited and trigger a nearby olfactory nerve cell. Details of what happens after this have yet to be worked out, but basically the firing of these nerve cells is analyzed by nerve circuits in the rest of the olfactory bulb then transferred to the brain, where we call it "smell".


What is the function of receptors in human body?

The function of receptors is to check about the taste,smell,etc. In our human body there are two types of receptors and they are gustatory receptors and olfactory receptors where as gustatory receptors will detect taste and olfactory receptors will detect smell.


What are two classifications of sensory receptors?

There are many different sensory receptors, but olfactory receptors in the nose, and cones and rods in the eyes are two specific types of sensory receptors. Olfactory detects the chemical presence and your brain identifies it as a smell. The rods and cones of the eye process light and color to form images that your brain processes as vision.


What structure transmits information about odors?

Odors are the smells of the world. The olfactory receptors inside of the nose transmit information about what you smell to the brain.


What are smell receptors called?

They are called the olfactory cilia (microscopic hairs) located in the olfactory epithelium.


What is the sensory receptors for smell?

The olfactory receptor is found in the nose.


How do olfactory receptor cells work to make smell possible?

The olfactory bulb is actually a tiny lobe of the brain. There are many thousands of different cell types in the olfactory bulb, each with receptors for different chemicals. When these receptors bind to their matching chemical in the air they become excited and trigger a nearby olfactory nerve cell. Details of what happens after this have yet to be worked out, but basically the firing of these nerve cells is analyzed by nerve circuits in the rest of the olfactory bulb then transferred to the brain, where we call it "smell".