Olfactory bulb

The olfactory bulb (Latin: bulbus olfactorius) is a neural structure of the vertebrate forebrain involved in olfaction, the sense of smell. It sends olfactory information to be further processed in the amygdala, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the hippocampus where it plays a role in emotion, memory and learning. The bulb is divided into two distinct structures: the main olfactory bulb and the accessory olfactory bulb. The main olfactory bulb connects to the amygdala via the piriform cortex of the primary olfactory cortex and directly projects from the main olfactory bulb to specific amygdala areas. The accessory olfactory bulb resides on the dorsal-posterior region of the main olfactory bulb and forms a parallel pathway. Destruction of the olfactory bulb results in ipsilateral anosmia, while irritative lesions of the uncus can result in olfactory and gustatory hallucinations.'The increase of brain size relative to body size—encephalization—is intimately linked with human evolution. However, two genetically different evolutionary lineages, Neanderthals and modern humans, have produced similarly large-brained human species. Thus, understanding human brain evolution should include research into specific cerebral reorganization, possibly reflected by brain shape changes. Here we exploit developmental integration between the brain and its underlying skeletal base to test hypotheses about brain evolution in Homo. Three-dimensional geometric morphometric analyses of endobasicranial shape reveal previously undocumented details of evolutionary changes in Homo sapiens. Larger olfactory bulbs, relatively wider orbitofrontal cortex, relatively increased and forward projecting temporal lobe poles appear unique to modern humans. Such brain reorganization, beside physical consequences for overall skull shape, might have contributed to the evolution of H. sapiens' learning and social capacities, in which higher olfactory functions and its cognitive, neurological behavioral implications could have been hitherto underestimated factors.' The olfactory bulb (Latin: bulbus olfactorius) is a neural structure of the vertebrate forebrain involved in olfaction, the sense of smell. It sends olfactory information to be further processed in the amygdala, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the hippocampus where it plays a role in emotion, memory and learning. The bulb is divided into two distinct structures: the main olfactory bulb and the accessory olfactory bulb. The main olfactory bulb connects to the amygdala via the piriform cortex of the primary olfactory cortex and directly projects from the main olfactory bulb to specific amygdala areas. The accessory olfactory bulb resides on the dorsal-posterior region of the main olfactory bulb and forms a parallel pathway. Destruction of the olfactory bulb results in ipsilateral anosmia, while irritative lesions of the uncus can result in olfactory and gustatory hallucinations. In most vertebrates, the olfactory bulb is the most rostral (forward) part of the brain, as seen in rats. In humans, however, the olfactory bulb is on the inferior (bottom) side of the brain. The olfactory bulb is supported and protected by the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone, which in mammals separates it from the olfactory epithelium, and which is perforated by olfactory nerve axons. The bulb is divided into two distinct structures: the main olfactory bulb and the accessory olfactory bulb. The main olfactory bulb has a multi-layered cellular architecture. In order from surface to the center the layers are: The olfactory bulb transmits smell information from the nose to the brain, and is thus necessary for a proper sense of smell. As a neural circuit, the glomerular layer receives direct input from afferent nerves, made up of the axons from approximately ten million olfactory receptor neurons in the olfactory mucosa, a region of the nasal cavity. The ends of the axons cluster in spherical structures known as glomeruli such that each glomerulus receives input primarily from olfactory receptor neurons that express the same olfactory receptor.The glomeruli layer of the olfactory bulb is the first level of synaptic processing. The glomeruli layer represents a spatial odor map organized by chemical structure of odorants like functional group and carbon chain length. This spatial map is divided into zones and clusters, which represent similar glomeruli and therefore similar odors. One cluster in particular is associated with rank, spoiled smells which are represented by certain chemical characteristics. This classification may be evolutionary to help identify food that is no longer good to eat. The spatial map of the glomeruli layer may be used for perception of odor in the olfactory cortex. The next level of synaptic processing in the olfactory bulb occurs in the external plexiform layer, between the glomerular layer and the mitral cell layer. The external plexiform layer contains astrocytes, interneurons and some mitral cells. It does not contain many cell bodies, rather mostly dendrites of mitral cells and GABAergic granule cells are also permeated by dendrites from neurons called mitral cells, which in turn output to the olfactory cortex. Numerous interneuron types exist in the olfactory bulb including periglomerular cells which synapse within and between glomeruli, and granule cells which synapse with mitral cells. The granule cell layer is the deepest layer in the olfactory bulb. It is made up of dendrodendritic granule cells that synapse to the mitral cell layer. This part of brain receives sensations of smell.As a neural circuit, the olfactory bulb has one source of sensory input (axons from olfactory receptor neurons of the olfactory epithelium), and one output (mitral cell axons). As a result, it is generally assumed that it functions as a filter, as opposed to an associative circuit that has many inputs and many outputs. However, the olfactory bulb also receives 'top-down' information from such brain areas as the amygdala, neocortex, hippocampus, locus coeruleus, and substantia nigra.Its potential functions can be placed into four non-exclusive categories: While all of these functions could theoretically arise from the olfactory bulb's circuit layout, it is unclear which, if any, of these functions are performed exclusively by the olfactory bulb. By analogy to similar parts of the brain such as the retina, many researchers have focused on how the olfactory bulb filters incoming information from receptor neurons in space, or how it filters incoming information in time. At the core of these proposed filters are the two classes of interneurons; the periglomerular cells, and the granule cells. Processing occurs at each level of the main olfactory bulb, beginning with the spatial maps that categorize odors in the glomeruli layer. Interneurons in the external plexiform layer are responsive to pre-synaptic action potentials and exhibit both excitatory postsynaptic potentials and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials. Neural firing varies temporally, there are periods of fast, spontaneous firing and slow modulation of firing. These patterns may be related to sniffing or change in intensity and concentration of odorant. Temporal patterns may have effect in later processing of spatial awareness of odorant. For example, synchronized mitral cell spike trains appear to help to discriminate similar odors better than when those spike trains are not synchronized. Destruction to the olfactory bulb results in ipsilateral anosmia while irritative lesion of the uncus can result in olfactory and gustatory hallucinations. The interneurons in the external plexiform layer perform feedback inhibition on the mitral cells to control back propagation. They also participate in lateral inhibition of the mitral cells. This inhibition is an important part of olfaction as it aids in odor discrimination by decreasing firing in response to background odors and differentiating the responses of olfactory nerve inputs in the mitral cell layer. Inhibition of the mitral cell layer by the other layers contributes to odor discrimination and higher level processing by modulating the output from the olfactory bulb. These hyperpolarizations during odor stimulation shape the responses of the mitral cells to make them more specific to an odor.