Neuroscience

A 'time switch' in the brain improves sense of smell

When the brain processes olfactory stimuli, it differentiates between similar smells using subtly modulated signals. Brain examinations and behavioral studies in mice have now shown that neurons with inhibiting characteristics ...

Neuroscience

Stinky or fragrant? Predicting changing odor preferences

Pleasant and unpleasant odors are a part of everyone's life, but how do our reactions to smells change when other odors are present? To answer this question, researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Witnesses can catch criminals by smell

Move over sniffer dogs, people who witnessed a crime are able to identify criminals by their smell. Police lineups normally rely on sight, but nose-witnesses can be just as reliable as eye-witnesses, new research published ...

Neuroscience

Key regulatory role for mysterious olfaction molecule OMP

New research from the Monell Center reveals that olfactory marker protein (OMP), a molecule found in the cells that detect odor molecules, plays a key role in regulating the speed and transmission of odor information to the ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia

Odor biomarker for Alzheimer's disease

A new study from the Monell Center, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and collaborating institutions reports a uniquely identifiable odor signature from mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. The odor signature appears ...

Neuroscience

Biologist discusses the brain's dimensional odor sensitivity

Blindfolded and asked to distinguish between a rose and, say, smoke from a burning candle, most people would find the task easy. Even differentiating between two rose varieties can be a snap because the human olfactory system—made ...

Neuroscience

Sniff tests used to create olfactory fingerprint

(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers with affiliations to several institutions in Israel has developed a way to test the differences in the way people perceive odors. The differences are enough, the team reports in their ...

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