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Neurobiologist Stuart Firestein explains how the olfactory system detects odors, why smell is so closely tied to memory, and what it may reveal about consciousness.
Stuart Firestein is the former Chair of Columbia University’s Department of Biological Sciences and is currently a neuroscience professor. His laboratory studies the vertebrate olfactory system.
In Episode #26 of Consciousness & The Brain, we explore new and interesting questions about Smell, Taste & Consciousness with our special guest Dr. Stuart Firestein, an esteemed neuroscientist who specializes in the olfactory system: why and how our brains and noses sense smell.
Beyond detecting molecules, olfaction offers a valuable model for studying broader principles of signaling and perception in the brain, including how neurotransmitters, hormones, and peptides act through membrane receptors.
Schematic view of the human olfactory system. The primary and secondary olfactory cortices are represented in blue and green, respectively. Amyg, amygdala; Ento, entorhinal cortex; Hipp, hippocampus; OFC, orbitofrontal cortex; PC, piriform cortex; Thal, thalamus (adapted from Royet et al., 2014)
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