This chapter reviews the molecular and cellular processes by which information is extracted from an incoming olfactory stimulus and passed to the central nervous system. Aerodynamics and physical chemistry can define the concentration profiles of materials in the mucus and lead to an understanding of stimulus dynamics. A great goal is the separation of the various types of receptor molecules, as this leads to an understanding of the response spectrum of each, definitive structure–activity relationships, and the understanding of the chemistry of odor–receptor interactions. Beyond this it may lead to the ability to “type” cells according to their receptor content, a technique invaluable in the understanding of system function and of the guidance processes involved in regenerative glomerulus selection and synapse formation. The cell physiologists have the problem of the arrangement of the receptor molecules on cells and cellular control, the stoichiometry of the transductory system, and also the mechanisms and the extent to which primary cells act as information processors rather than as simple transducers. The system contributes an understanding of the neural mechanisms involved in olfactory information processing and their changes with learning. © 1992, ACADEMIC PRESS, INC.
