Year: 1997
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: As we interact with the environment, airborne chemicals and other volatile agents enter our noses and bombard the olfactory receptors.These finely-tuned microscopic structures determine, to a large degree, the flavors of foods and beverages, and warn us of such environmental hazards as leaking natural gas, spoiled food, and polluted air.Just as in the case of our two eyes and two ears, evolution has provided us with two separate nasal passages, each of which harbors a receptor-bearing olfactory epithelium.What is the physiological significance, if any, of this duality with regard to sensory lateralization?Is there a physiological advantage to this anatomical arrangement, other than providing redundancy?Although these questions have been debated for many years, considerable controversy still continues to exist as to whether asymmetries in olfactory function are, in fact, present at all.
Source: Advances in psychology
Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W2907628014