Responses of Isolated Olfactory Sensory Neurons to Odorants

The detection of odorant molecules begins in the nasal epithelium where olfactory sensory neurons interact with odorant stimuli from the external world and produce electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain. Olfactory sensory neurons are small bipolar neurons with several fine cilia. The binding of odorant molecules to odorant receptor proteins in the cilia triggers an enzymatic cascade that leads to the onset of an inward ionic current, depolarization of the membrane and generation of action potentials that are conducted along the neuron's axon to the olfactory bulb, where further processing of odorant information occurs.