Olfaction
Olfaction is one of the most ancient senses. Nevertheless, the field of olfaction has received far less attention as compared to other sensory modalities. This is mostly due to the technical challenge of working with odorous stimuli and the difficulties o
- PDF / 1,004,121 Bytes
- 25 Pages / 504.57 x 720 pts Page_size
- 0 Downloads / 184 Views
Olfaction Caroline Huart, Philippe Eloy, and Philippe Rombaux
Core Messages
• The gene family that encodes olfactory receptors corresponds to the largest family of genes in the mammalian genome. • The olfactory bulb contains major structures that can be considered to be the first olfactory structure: the glomeruli. The glomeruli are the only relay between the periphery and the cortex.
C. Huart, MD (*) • Ph. Rombaux, MD, PhD Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Avenue Hippocrate 10, Brussels, Belgium Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Ph. Eloy, MD Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Avenue Hippocrate 10, Brussels, Belgium Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium HNS and ENT Department, Chu Mont Godinne, UCL, Avenue Therasse, 1, Yvoir 5530, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]
• The olfactory system presents unique properties as compared to other sensory systems. They are (1) the predominance of ipsilaterality of the olfactory projections, (2) the conduction of odor-evoked signals without an obligatory thalamic relay and (3) the intimate overlap with limbic regions of the brain, involved in the determination of our personal and social behavior. • Normal olfactory function varies as a function of age and sex. • Smell disorders have severe consequences; including impaired quality of life, daily life problems, altered food choices, and consumption patterns than can negatively impact health and even depression. • The evaluation of patients suffering from olfactory disorders requires a precise clinical work-up procedure. • There are several causes of olfactory dysfunction and it is essential to investigate about the etiology of olfactory dysfunction. The most frequent are chronic rhinosinusitis, post-infectious olfactory loss and post-traumatic olfactory loss. • Management of patients should include information about consequences for daily life and coping strategy, focusing on instructional information about fire alarms, domestic gas, hygiene, etc.
T.M. Önerci (ed.), Nasal Physiology and Pathophysiology of Nasal Disorders, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-37250-6_10, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
113
C. Huart et al.
114
10.1
Introduction
Olfaction is one of the most ancient senses. Nevertheless, the field of olfaction has received far less attention as compared to other sensory modalities. This is mostly due to the technical challenge of working with odorous stimuli and the difficulties of measuring brain activity induced by a chemosensory stimulus. Although a majority of people consider it as one of the less important senses, this sense plays a major role in our interaction with the environment. Not only olfactory system acts for the detection of potential danger in the environment, such as smoke or gas, but also it influences our nutrition, social behavior, well-being, and memory processe
Data Loading...
