Exclusive:Sensory Integration and Its Brain Mechanisms

Olfaction and its interplay with other sensory modalities

  • CHEN Wei ,
  • CHEN Kepu ,
  • ZHOU Bin ,
  • ZHOU Wen
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  • Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Received date: 2017-08-15

  Revised date: 2017-09-15

  Online published: 2017-10-18

Abstract

Olfaction is a chemoreception that occurs when odorants bind to olfactory receptors located in the nasal cavity. Recent research on human olfaction shows that it not only enables odor identification but also automatically evokes emotional response and subtly mediates interpersonal communication. By integrating with vision, the sense of smell facilitates object perception and influences socioemotional processing. Moreover, the combination of olfaction, taste and other senses forms flavor perception, which gives rise to the enjoyable experiences of eating and drinking.

Cite this article

CHEN Wei , CHEN Kepu , ZHOU Bin , ZHOU Wen . Olfaction and its interplay with other sensory modalities[J]. Science & Technology Review, 2017 , 35(19) : 29 -36 . DOI: 10.3981/j.issn.1000-7857.2017.19.003

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