Question
Question: Jaya’s mother is preparing dosa in the kitchen. She recognized the smell of dosa while she was plann...
Jaya’s mother is preparing dosa in the kitchen. She recognized the smell of dosa while she was planning on the veranda. What process was involved in this?
Solution
The mechanism of generating the perception of smell is the sense of smell. It happens when an odor binds through the olfactory system to a receptor inside the nose, transmitting a signal. There are several uses for olfaction, including identifying threats, pheromones, and playing a part in taste.
Complete answer:
The sense of smell is part of the chemo sensory system, or the chemical senses, like the sense of taste. The senses of smell come from specialized sensory cells, known as olfactory sensory neurons, which are located high within the nose in a small patch of tissue. These cells bind to the brain directly.
Each olfactory neuron contains one odor receptor. These receptors are activated by microscopic molecules emitted by substances around us, be it the odor of dosa or pine trees in the forest.
They send signals to your brain, which detects the smell, until the neurons sense the molecules. There are more smells in the atmosphere than receptors, and a mixture of receptors can be activated by any given molecule, producing a special representation in the brain. The brain registers these images as a specific smell.
Note: Olfactory receptors show affinity for a variety of odor molecules instead of binding particular ligands. A single odorant molecule, on the other hand, can bind to a variety of olfactory receptors with different affinities depending on the physio-chemical properties of molecules, such as their molecular volumes. The receptor undergoes structural changes after the odorant has been bound to the odor receptor. It then binds and activates the G-type olfactory protein on the inside of the olfactory receptor neuron.