Olfactory Subsystems

Abstract

A plethora of structurally diverse environmental chemosignals convey critical information for survival, health, and reproduction. To meet the bewildering structural complexity of the chemical odor space, distinct cellular mechanisms and, ultimately, sensory subsystems have evolved to detect and discriminate these varied chemostimuli. Mammalian olfactory subsystems can be categorized by the stimuli they detect, the signaling proteins they express, and the central circuits that process these information. This chapter is centered on noncanonical olfactory subsystems and their peripheral sensory structures – the vomeronasal organ, the septal organ of Masera, and the Grüneberg ganglion.