In the nose there are 400 different types of olfactory receptors that are organized according to a scale that places the most pleasant at one extreme and the most foul at the opposite pole . This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the Weizmann Institute (USA) in a study published today in the journal Nature Neuroscience . According to the authors, this classification conditions the distribution of receptors in the nasal membrane, which is not random. If we smell a rose, for example, despite the fact that this flower emits up to 172 different odorous molecules, it will be a specific area of our nasal membrane that will react specifically to its dominant aromas and allow us to perceive them.
The results further confirm that whether an individual experiences an odor as pleasant or unpleasant depends largely on their physiology , and not on their psychology. Of course, Noam Sobel, co-author of the work, believes that cultural context and cultural experience can cause membrane receptors to reorganize throughout a person's life.
