The Olfactory System Outside of the Nose

 This past week, Dr. Bozza from Northwestern University had come in to give us a lecture on the olfactory subsystem. Particularly the subsystem that mediates high-sensitivity detection of volatile amines. In his lecture, Dr. Bozza mentioned the vast amount of odorant receptors in mice, and that each receptor has specific glomeruli in the olfactory bulb, and that trace amine-associated receptors project to a discrete subset of glomeruli which are selectively activated by amines at low concentrations. According to his research, “10 out of 14 olfactory TAARs are mapped to a cluster of typical glomeruli in the dorsal olfactory bulb of the mouse” (Pacifico et al., 2012). It was interesting to learn more about the complexity of the olfactory system.

Recent research adds to this complexity, in fact, in a New York Times article by author, Alex Stone, the olfactory, or odor, receptors are not just limited to our noses, but have also been discovered throughout the body. Stone stated that olfactory receptors can be found in, “the liver, the heart, the kidneys and even sperm – where they play a pivotal role in a host of physiological functions” (Stone). This research shows that odor receptors have gone through evolution over the years as chemical sensors that have the ability to detect many different chemical compounds, and not just ones that are airborne.

The article goes on to describe research that has been done on odors having a positive effect in regrowth. In one example, Stone refers to a researcher reporting that “exposing [a] receptor to a synthetic sandalwood odor known as Sandalore sets off a cascade of molecular signals that appears to induce healing in injured tissue” (Stone). Although more research must be done in order for scientists to be able to match up receptors to specific chemical compounds, it is still quite fascinating to know that olfactory receptors can be found outside of the nose. Stone pointed out how olfactory receptors were simply found in the nose first and weren’t necessarily there before receptors in the rest of the body, which goes back to the vastness of the olfactory system described by Dr. Bozza in his lecture on the olfactory subsystem.

Works Cited

Pacifico, R., Adam, D., Cawley, D., Guo, C., & Bozza, T. “An Olfactory Subsystem that Mediates High-Sensitivity Detection of Volatile Amines.” Cell Press.

Stone, Alex. “Smells Turn Up in Unexpected Places.” The New York Times. 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/science/smell-turns-up-in-unexpected-places.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=search&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0>

Picture: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25865-skins-ability-to-smell-seems-to-help-it-heal-itself/