How Signals Get Sent
When the smell receptors are stimulated, signals travel along the olfactory nerve to the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is underneath the front of your brain just above the nasal cavity. Signals are sent from the olfactory bulb to other parts of the brain to be interpreted as a smell you may recognize, like apple pie fresh from the oven. Yum!
Identifying smells is your brain's way of telling you about your environment. Have you ever smelled your toast burning? In an instant, your brain interpreted the smell and a problem and you knew to check on your toast.
You learned to associate a certain smell with burning and now your brain remembers that smell so you recognize it. Your sense of smell also can help you keep safe. For example, it can warn you not to eat something that smells rotten or help you detect smoke before you see a fire.
Tastes Great!
Most people just think of the tongue when they think about taste. But you couldn't taste anything without some help from the nose! The ability to smell and taste go together because odors from foods allow us to taste more fully.
Take a bite of food and think about how it tastes. Then pinch your nose and take another bite. Notice the difference? It's just another reason to appreciate your knockout of a nose!