Work

Poor human olfaction is a 19th-century myth

Year: 2017

Type: review

Abstract: It is commonly believed that humans have a poor sense of smell compared to other mammalian species. However, this idea derives not from empirical studies of human olfaction but from a famous 19th-century anatomist's hypothesis that the evolution of human free will required a reduction in the proportional size of the brain's olfactory bulb. The human olfactory bulb is actually quite large in absolute terms and contains a similar number of neurons to that of other mammals. Moreover, humans have excellent olfactory abilities. We can detect and discriminate an extraordinary range of odors, we are more sensitive than rodents and dogs for some odors, we are capable of tracking odor trails, and our behavioral and affective states are influenced by our sense of smell.

Source: Science

DOI: 10.1126/science.aam7263

Author: John P. McGann

Institutions: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Laboratoire d'Anthropologie et de Psychologie Cognitives et Sociales

Language: English

Topic: Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies

Subfield: Sensory Systems

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Awards: G3902020343, How Fear Learning Alters Sensory Representations of Threat Predictive Stimuli, G5643120572, Cognitive modulation of primary sensory processing in olfactory receptor neurons