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Olfactory Perception

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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

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Synonyms

Elemental and configural perception; Odor detection; Odor processing; Odor representation

Definition

Olfactory perception comprises the detection and processing of one or several odor molecules ending in the representation (sometimes identification) by the organism of a particular odor, which may be discriminated from another odor. Animals – including humans – detect odor molecules through receptor systems, in which higher organisms are expressed by receptor cells directly connected to the brain. The brain will analyze and interpret the incoming information and display a response if it is biologically relevant. The response may be physiological/neural, psychological (emotion), and/or behavioral. Responsiveness to the information may be either spontaneous (i.e., predisposed) or consecutive to a learning process. In the latter case, after acquisition, the information is stored by the brain and retrieved later on, therefore contributing to the animals’ acquired knowledge of the...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (Lyon Neuroscience Research Center) INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292, Université Claude Bernard Lyon, Lyon, France

    Gérard Coureaud & Nanette Y. Schneider

Authors
  1. Gérard Coureaud
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  2. Nanette Y. Schneider
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gérard Coureaud .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Poolesville, MD, USA

    Annika Paukner

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Coureaud, G., Schneider, N.Y. (2019). Olfactory Perception. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_2046-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_2046-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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