"The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived."
Olfactory perception involves the processing and interpretation of odor information. It is unique from other senses in that smell can directly elicit emotional and memory responses.
Anatomy and Physiology of the Olfactory System: Understanding the physical structure of the olfactory system, including the olfactory epithelium, olfactory bulbs, and neural pathways involved in odor detection and processing.
Odorant molecules and their detection: Different types of odorants, how they are transported, and how they interact with receptors in the olfactory epithelium.
Psychophysics of Olfactory Perception: The relationship between physical properties of odors, such as concentration and chemical composition, and subjective experience of odor perception.
Cognitive and affective aspects of Olfactory Perception: The role of cognitive and emotional factors in odor perception and recognition.
Development of Olfactory Perception: The developmental changes in olfactory perception and recognition from infancy to adulthood.
Olfactory Dysfunction: Causes and consequences of olfactory dysfunction, including anosmia (loss of smell), hyposmia (reduced ability to smell), and dysosmia (altered sense of smell).
Cross-modal Perception: The interaction between olfactory and other sensory modalities, such as vision, audition, and taste.
Individual Differences in Olfactory Perception: The extent to which people differ in their sensitivity to different odorants, and the factors that contribute to these differences.
Cultural and Social Aspects of Olfactory Perception: The cultural and social factors that influence the subjective experience of odor perception.
Olfactory Perception in Animals: The similarities and differences in olfactory perception and processing in different animal species, and the implications for olfactory research.
Odor detection: The ability to detect an odor in the environment.
Odor discrimination: The ability to differentiate between different odors.
Odor identification: The ability to identify an odor based on its name or associated memory.
Odor intensity: The ability to perceive the strength or concentration of an odor.
Odor memory: The ability to remember and recognize a previously encountered odor.
Odor hedonics: The ability to perceive the pleasantness or unpleasantness of an odor.
Odor localization: The ability to locate the source of an odor in space.
Odor adaptation: The ability to adjust to a continuous exposure to an odor and become less sensitive to it over time.
"The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste."
"In humans, it occurs when an odor binds to a receptor within the nasal cavity, transmitting a signal through the olfactory system."
"Transmitting a signal through the olfactory system."
"Glomeruli aggregate signals from these receptors and transmit them to the olfactory bulb."
"Parts of the brain responsible for smell identification, memory, and emotion."
"There are many different causes for alteration, lack, or disturbance to a normal sense of smell, and can include damage to the nose or smell receptors, or central problems affecting the brain."
"Upper respiratory infections."
"Traumatic brain injury."
"Neurodegenerative disease."
"The sense of smell [...] detects desirable foods."
"[...] detecting hazards."
"The sense of smell [...] plays a role in taste."
"Signals from these receptors."
"The sensory input will start to interact with parts of the brain responsible for smell identification, memory, and emotion."
"Anosmia."
"Hyposmia."
"Olfaction."
"Detecting pheromones."
"Damage to the nose or smell receptors."