Discuss the Characteristics of the Olfactory System That Make It

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The Answer is One aspect that makes the olfactory system unique is that it is the oldest sensory system evolutionarily.In fact,scientists have hypothesized that it is a vestigial sense,as some may argue it has little adaptive value for humans compared to other animals. Another way in which the olfactory system is unique is that it is the only sensory system that does not include receptors which synapse with dendrites on neurons.In the olfactory system,neurons themselves are exposed to the environment.Further,unlike the traditional view of neurons in the brain,the olfactory system has a 'plastic' quality.While traditionally the central nervous system is understood not to produce new neural cells in adulthood,cells in the olfactory system replace themselves every few months throughout the course of a lifetime. The forth way in which the olfactory system is unique is that it is the only sensory system whose projections do not pass through the thalamus on the way to the neocortex.Instead,the information travels directly to the limbic system before the thalamus and neocortex.Because of this pattern of connection,the sense of smell has an unusually strong connection to emotion and memory.

Discuss the Characteristics of the Olfactory System That Make It

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