Olfactory Organ

Olfactory Organ

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Researchers at KarolinskaInstitutet in Sweden have found that negative smells associated with unpleasantness or unease are processed earlier than positive smells and trigger a physical avoidance response.

Concept –

• The olfactory system, or sense of smell, is the sensory system used for smelling (olfaction).
• Researchers in Sweden have found that negative smells associated with unpleasantness or unease are processed earlier than positive smells and trigger a physical avoidance response.
• The olfactory organ takes up about 5% of the human brain and enables us to distinguish between many million different smells. In humans, the olfactory sense seems particularly important for detecting and reacting to potentially harmful stimuli.
• The researchers have for the first time made it possible to measure signals from the human olfactory bulb, which processes smells and in turn can transmits signals to parts of the brain that control movement and avoidance behaviour.
• The bulb reacts specifically and rapidly to negative smells and sends a direct signal to the motor cortex within about 300 milliseconds.