ISSUES IN CURRENT KNOWLEDGE OF OLFACTORY NEUROBIOLOGY AND EPIGENETICS

Abstract

This review will attempt to bring together several current fields of research on the topic of the olfactory system. The neurobiology of the system is fairly well understood in many different species, from insects to humans, which advanced significantly with the characterization of olfactory G-protein coupled receptors. These receptors bind odorant molecules and the sensory neurons carry the signal of that odor to the brain for further identification. Each olfactory sensory neuron only expresses a single type of receptor. The mechanisms for how this is done are not well understood. Epigenetics have been identified as a possible mechanism of inheritance of neurobiological and behavioral changes in response to odor fear-conditioning. Many different scientific disciplines will need to combine knowledge and further studies in order to discover how olfaction has evolved in varying ways across species having many different lifestyles.