The human sense of smell notion to be inferior to other animals started off with Paul Broca, a French neuroanatomist in 1879. It was a myth that passed on from generation to generation believing that the sense of smell of other animals is far better than that of humans. Modern science has proven that the telltale is not true as what scientists of lore believed.
Broca's records were traced by present day neuroscientist John McGann of Rutgers University, Director of McGann Lab and his team of researchers regarding the human sense of smell. His study is generously funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute on deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). He thinks that the human nose knows more than what previous scientists think.
By comparisons to other animals like the mouse and other vermins, dog, goat, and the monkey, humans have smaller size olfactory bulbs. This is the medium that sends signals to the brain responding to what smell it receives. Neuroscientists believed that this is the reason why a man was believed to have lower smelling capabilities compared to other animals. Today's technology and neuroscientists think otherwise of the inferiority of the human sense of smell.
Recent studies present findings that the human sense of smell can tell a trillion different odors from each other. Broca, on the other hand, was right about the size of the olfactory bulbs present in animals on trial including man. Humans have less olfactory bulbs compared to a mouse or a dog. The mouse, for instance, has 200 times more bulbs than that of humans and dogs having olfactory bulb 40 times larger than man's, reports The Conversation.
Through the latest technology, The olfactory bulbs do not really matter regardless of size and body ratio proportions. What is essential is the number of neurotransmitters that are present in the brain which relays information to judge on the smell. After the olfactory bulbs, the neurons relay the message to the brain. The number of neurons among the animal tests including man are at around the same numbers, reports Yahoo News.
The vast amount of information came out from McGann's study on how the human sense of smell influence behavior. Exposure to certain odors can trigger hormonal and psychological reactions. Citrus scented cleaners, for example, set the minds of cleanliness to most people that will set their actions to clean up and maintain the cleanliness of the place.
