Instructor’s Manual
by Evan M. Palmer
to accompany
Sensation & Perception, Sixth Edition
Wolfe • Kluender • Levi • Bartoshuk • Herz • Klatzky • Merfeld
Chapter 14: Olfaction
Chapter Introduction
The stimuli for olfaction are small, airborne molecules that make contact with receptor
cells in the olfactory epithelium lining the top of the nasal cavity. Scents are detected by
means of a combinatorial code, where one odorant may bind to several receptors and one
receptor may bind several different odorants. Thus, the code for smells are patterns of
activation across many types of olfactory receptors, much like the code for color is the
pattern of activity across the three types of cones. Perhaps because of this coding system,
people are very bad at picking out the components of a scent mixture (e.g. the hundreds
of chemical components that make up the scent of coffee). We adapt to new odors in our
environment (i.e., we stop noticing them) in a matter of minutes, and we habituate to
constant odors over longer periods of time. Hedonic evaluations of odors (whether we
find them pleasant or unpleasant) are often very powerful but are not innate—chemicals
that smell terrible to people in one culture may be easily tolerated or even liked by people
in other cultures. Some mammals have an additional olfactory apparatus—the
vomeronasal organ—that allows them to sense pheromones. Humans do not have this
organ and thus do not respond to pheromones per se, but we do respond to other
chemosignals that can have surprising effects on our behavior.
Chapter Outline
14.1 Olfactory Physiology
Odors and Odorants
The Human Olfactory Apparatus
How Well Do We Smell?
SENSATION & PERCEPTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE : Anosmia and Conditions that Affect
Olfactory Function
14.2 Neurophysiology of Olfaction
The Genetic Basis of Olfactory Receptors
The “Feel” of Scent
14.3 From Chemicals to Smells
Theories of Olfactory Perception
© Oxford University Press
, The Importance of Patterns
Is Odor Perception Synthetic or Analytical?
Nasal Power
Odor Imagery
14.4 Olfactory Psychophysics, Identification, and Adaptation
Detection
Discrimination, and Recognition
Psychophysical Methods for Detection, Discrimination, and Recognition
Identification: Olfaction and Language
Individual Differences
Adaptation
SCIENTISTS AT WORK: A New Test to Diagnose Parkinson’s Disease
Cognitive Habituation and Odor Consciousness
14.5 Olfactory Hedonics
Familiarity and Intensity
Nature or Nurture?
An Evolutionary Argument
Caveats
14.6 Associative Learning and Emotion: Neuroanatomical and Evolutionary
Considerations
The Vomeronasal Organ, Human Pheromones, and Chemosignals
SENSATION & PERCEPTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE: Odor-Evoked Memory and the Truth
behind Aromatherapy
Chapter Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this chapter, students will be able to:
14.0 Introduction
14.0.1 Define orthonasal olfaction.
14.0.2 Define retronasal olfaction.
14.1 Olfactory Physiology
14.1.1 Describe the molecular properties of odorants.
14.1.2 Describe the physiological parts of the human olfactory epithelium and their
functions.
14.1.3 Explain how a hard blow to the head can result in anosmia.
© Oxford University Press
by Evan M. Palmer
to accompany
Sensation & Perception, Sixth Edition
Wolfe • Kluender • Levi • Bartoshuk • Herz • Klatzky • Merfeld
Chapter 14: Olfaction
Chapter Introduction
The stimuli for olfaction are small, airborne molecules that make contact with receptor
cells in the olfactory epithelium lining the top of the nasal cavity. Scents are detected by
means of a combinatorial code, where one odorant may bind to several receptors and one
receptor may bind several different odorants. Thus, the code for smells are patterns of
activation across many types of olfactory receptors, much like the code for color is the
pattern of activity across the three types of cones. Perhaps because of this coding system,
people are very bad at picking out the components of a scent mixture (e.g. the hundreds
of chemical components that make up the scent of coffee). We adapt to new odors in our
environment (i.e., we stop noticing them) in a matter of minutes, and we habituate to
constant odors over longer periods of time. Hedonic evaluations of odors (whether we
find them pleasant or unpleasant) are often very powerful but are not innate—chemicals
that smell terrible to people in one culture may be easily tolerated or even liked by people
in other cultures. Some mammals have an additional olfactory apparatus—the
vomeronasal organ—that allows them to sense pheromones. Humans do not have this
organ and thus do not respond to pheromones per se, but we do respond to other
chemosignals that can have surprising effects on our behavior.
Chapter Outline
14.1 Olfactory Physiology
Odors and Odorants
The Human Olfactory Apparatus
How Well Do We Smell?
SENSATION & PERCEPTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE : Anosmia and Conditions that Affect
Olfactory Function
14.2 Neurophysiology of Olfaction
The Genetic Basis of Olfactory Receptors
The “Feel” of Scent
14.3 From Chemicals to Smells
Theories of Olfactory Perception
© Oxford University Press
, The Importance of Patterns
Is Odor Perception Synthetic or Analytical?
Nasal Power
Odor Imagery
14.4 Olfactory Psychophysics, Identification, and Adaptation
Detection
Discrimination, and Recognition
Psychophysical Methods for Detection, Discrimination, and Recognition
Identification: Olfaction and Language
Individual Differences
Adaptation
SCIENTISTS AT WORK: A New Test to Diagnose Parkinson’s Disease
Cognitive Habituation and Odor Consciousness
14.5 Olfactory Hedonics
Familiarity and Intensity
Nature or Nurture?
An Evolutionary Argument
Caveats
14.6 Associative Learning and Emotion: Neuroanatomical and Evolutionary
Considerations
The Vomeronasal Organ, Human Pheromones, and Chemosignals
SENSATION & PERCEPTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE: Odor-Evoked Memory and the Truth
behind Aromatherapy
Chapter Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this chapter, students will be able to:
14.0 Introduction
14.0.1 Define orthonasal olfaction.
14.0.2 Define retronasal olfaction.
14.1 Olfactory Physiology
14.1.1 Describe the molecular properties of odorants.
14.1.2 Describe the physiological parts of the human olfactory epithelium and their
functions.
14.1.3 Explain how a hard blow to the head can result in anosmia.
© Oxford University Press
