Olfaction and Pheromones: Uncanonical Sensory Influences and Bulbar Interactions

Olfaction and Pheromones: Uncanonical Sensory Influences and Bulbar Interactions

Blog Article

The rodent main and accessory olfactory systems (AOS) are considered functionally and anatomically segregated information-processing pathways.Each system is devoted to the detection of volatile odorants and pheromones, respectively.However, a growing number Hutch/Bookcase of evidences supports a cooperative interaction between them.For instance, at least four non-canonical receptor families (i.e.

, different from olfactory and vomeronasal receptor families) have been recently discovered.These atypical receptor families are expressed in the sensory organs of the nasal cavity and furnish parallel processing-pathways that detect specific stimuli and mediate specific behaviors as well.Aside from the receptor and functional diversity of these sensory modalities, they converge into a poorly understood bulbar area at the intersection of the main- main olfactory bulb (MOB) and accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) that has been termed olfactory limbus (OL).Given the intimate association the OL with specialized glomeruli (i.e.

, necklace and modified glomeruli) receiving uncanonical sensory afferences and its interactions with the MOB Camellia and AOB, the possibility that OL is a site of non-olfactory and atypical vomeronasal sensory decoding is discussed.