Abstract
The olfactory system displays a dramatically sensitive and selective recognition system for odorants. Animals can detect and discriminate thousands of odorants, some at ambient concentrations as low as one part per trillion (1 ppt). While numerous theories have been advanced to explain this sensitivity and selectivity (Amoore, 1982), remarkably few direct experimental data support any specific molecular mechanism. It is not known whether the nose possesses thousands of distinct olfactory receptors or whether the influence of odorants on a small population of receptors can account for our ability to discriminate among large numbers of odorants.
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© 1988 Plenum Press, New York
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Snyder, S.H., Sklar, P.B., Pevsner, J. (1988). Olfactory Receptor Mechanisms. In: Margolis, F.L., Getchell, T.V. (eds) Molecular Neurobiology of the Olfactory System. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0989-5_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0989-5_1
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