The olfactory system is the sensory found in the human body, and it is used to sense smell. The olfactory system has many components, such as the olfactory receptors, the olfactory sensory neurons, the olfactory bulb, and the cortex. The olfactory receptors are nerve cells that detect smell. These cells are generated in large numbers and located at the back of the nasal cavity. Each cell has an extreme extension called the Celia, which is covered by mucus and helps detect and respond to smell. The olfactory receptors determine the signal intensity projected in the olfactory bulb (Som, 2018, p. 140). The olfactory sensory neurons are bipolar neurons found within the olfactory system. They are located in the nasal epithelium. The epithelium is a thin pink colored layer that lines the upper nasal cavities (Som, p. 139). The olfactory sensory neurons work is to transmit odor information to the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is a neural structure found in most species and is located at the brain's foremost part. The olfactory bulb has different types of neurons that form a sophisticated neural network (Som p. 2018, p. 144). The olfactory bulb is divided into two sections: the main olfactory bulb and the accessory olfactory bulb. The main olfactory bulb receives and relays smell information from the olfactory sensory neuron to the cortex. The olfactory cortex, being the part of the brain that receives odor information from the olfactory bulb, has the piriform cortex as its component. The cortex is responsible for analyzing the quality coding, hedonics, and memory of smell.
Different people might have different taste experiences; this is attributed to their sensory capacities of the taste buds. The tongue contains some bumps called papillae, which house taste buds. A substance might taste either tasteless or intensely bitter, depending on individual variation in the number of papillae (Piochi et al., 2018). People with more papillae might find intense flavors overwhelming. The senses, such as smell and taste, are psychologically influenced by culture. This is because the sense nerves identify with what they know and are used to. The sensor nerves of individuals from a specific culture might have a high tolerance for stronger scents and smells. For instance, Americans can quickly identify cinnamon and lemon scents compared to Europeans because they are more common in America. Mexican communities have a high tolerance for spicy food than other cultures because their taste buds are adapted to stronger tastes.
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References
Piochi, M., Dinnella, C., Prescott, J., & Monteleone, E. (2018). Associations between human fungiform papillae and responsiveness to oral stimuli: Effects of individual variability, population characteristics, and methods for papillae quantification. Chemical senses , 43 (5), 313-327.
Som, P. M., & Naidich, T. P. (2018). The Olfactory System: Part II: How Olfaction Is Processed in the Olfactory Epithelium and Olfactory Bulb. Neurographics , 8 (2), 136-153.
