Chapter 40, Problem 1AC

We don’t merely identify odors. We also label them good or bad, flagrant or disgusting. What do you think might be the evolutionary advantage of emotional responses to odors? Do you think that all animals have the same emotional responses to odors that humans do?

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The evolutionary advantage of emotional responses to odors.

Introduction:

The senses provide information to the brain, that is, about the nature and intensity of the environmental responses. Smell or odor of food depends on the impulses generated by affinities of the olfactory cells. It depends upon the volume of odor molecules.

Explanation of Solution

Odors or smell plays an important role in detection by the senses. Labeling them helps the people to differentiate between the components that are potentially good or bad for them. The evolutionary advantages of such odors can avoid things that are unhealthy or bad for an individual

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The reason why all animals have the same emotional responses to odors as humans does.

Introduction:

In terrestrial vertebrates sense of smell that is olfaction occurs that allows them to detect airborne molecules. Olfactory receptors present in all animals display the ability for thousands of odor molecules and single odorant molecule as well. It allows animals to detect airborne molecules.

All the animal kingdom involves the “sense of smell”. Order perception increased in humans and animals by “experience or physiological state such as hunger”. Some orders may stimulate “emotions” and can lead to recall “emotional memories”. Thus, psychological and physiological states can be influenced by odors.

Explanation of Solution

Perception of smell can be affected by learning and memory as well as by physiological states. Odors can elicit “emotion” and it is linked to “emotional memories”. Such as, an order of predator can lead to cause a prey to move away from it whereas a newborn moves to the breast odor of their own mother. Different smell or odors can elicit different affective responses in individuals that can be either pleasant or unpleasant. Odors arousing from emotions can influence emotion and cognition.

As all animals may not share emotional responses to good or bad odors, the usefulness of it can be undeniable. The smell that is based on a pleasant emotion helps humans and other animals with stress, memories and other cognitive abilities. A pleasant odor or smell based on emotions can help with memory, stress, and cognition. When emotional responses are linked to odors, people elicit responses of good or bad. This can allow humans to use such information for their benefit.

Humans contain about 5 to 10 million olfactory receptor neurons and so many different types of olfactory receptor proteins. However, there are many other animals that can detect odors better than humans. They contain more olfactory receptors, receptor proteins than humans. For example, dogs have a couple of hundred olfactory neurons and can detect certain odors (in human sweat) thousands times better than humans.

Conclusion

Olfaction is responsible for a large component of smell called sense of smell. Thus, “emotional responses to odors” in human and animals is a good piece of information to understand.