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A complete block diagram of the olfactory modality of the neural system is presented for the first time.   It is the latest addition to a major COMPREHENSIVE study of the

ELECTROLYTIC THEORY OF THE NEURAL PROCESS

Last update:              Activa™: See Citation Page

THIS WEBPAGE IS IN AN EARLY STAGE OF ITS DEVELOPMENT.
The first web pages supporting this area discuss;

• The TOP BLOCK DIAGRAM of OLFACTION
• The CHEMORECEPTORS, the gustaphores and olfactophores of both the taste an smell modalities.

MAJOR CONCEPTUAL CHANGES

The Electrolytic Theory of the Neuron provides insights into the operation of the olfactory and gustatory sensing modalities not achieveable under the more widely taught chemical theory of the neuron.

The theory is far more complete and mathematically rigorous than any other presented to date. It introduces three major paradigm shifts affecting concepts held true for the last 50 years, a super extended period considering the rate of changes in other scientific technologies.

The theory shows that;

• The olfactory modality is best understood using a set of functional stages identical to those used to interpret the visual and hearing modalities.
• The sensory neurons of olfaction are functionally the same as the neurons of the visual and hearing modalities.
• The cilia of the sensory neurons exhibit specialized areas of type 2 lemma that appear as if coated with a liquid crystalline material that supports the transduction mechanism of smell. This material conceptually forms the Olfactory Receptors (OR's).
• The OR's of smell are primarily phospholipids combined with a set of amino acids. The amino acids can be considered simple peptides. However, they are specifically not proteins
• The OR's of smell are distinctly different from the gustatory receptors (GR's) of taste. with one exception.  Phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) is found in both modalities as the receptor for the sensing of organic (Lewis) acids.
• Molecular self-assembly, along with genetic coding, play important roles within the olfactory mucosa.
• The transduction process involves a non-reactive quantum-mechanical energy change that does not produce a chemical residue.
• The stimulant is stereochemically bonded to the OR's and then spontaneously decoupled (released).
• While coupled to the OR's, the dipole potential of the stimulant is measured.
• The sensory neurons exhibit adaptive qualities similar to those in hearing and vision.
• The individual glomeruli of the olfactory lobe are knots of synapses, each forming a two-dimensional signaling matrix.
• There are at least 23 individual glomeruli in humans. They support a multi-dimensional signaling space of at least 23 input dimensions.
• The number of individual output signaling paths from the glomeruli to the CNS is yet to be determined.
• The signals delivered to the CNS are processed very similarly to the way visual and hearing signals are processed.
• As in hearing and vision, memory plays a major role in interpreting and identifying indivual stumulants.

A draft describing the overall olfactory process is available for review and comment by researchers and advanced students. Click Here.
To completely understand this material, it may be necessary to have read the prior Rough draft on the overall gustatory process from which olfaction derives during evolution of the mammals.

A CAUTION

Because of the revolutionary nature of some of the material presented, students subject to examination by their institution are encouraged to review the Cautions Page before proceeding.

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