Martine Adrian Scotto, ICN, Nice
Caroline Bouissou, CTELA, Nice

Gesticulated molecules
conference performance duo
for "la nuit des chercheurs", UCA

What we call smell is the result of the encounter between small molecules in the air we breathe and our olfactory perception system.

© Caroline Bouissou

Smell is a chemical sense
The contact of odorous molecules with the membrane of the cilia gives rise to a signal. A cascade of chemical and electrical events follows, generating a nervous message that travels along a thin extension of the neuron, the axon, towards the brain.

© Caroline Bouissou

Olfaction is closely linked to the other sensory systems (hearing, sight) and when we recall a smell, the whole emotional context in which it was perceived comes to mind.