在人类基因组中编码了大约1000个嗅觉受体。少于500个受体在鼻上皮中起作用。每种受体神经元是单一类型的嗅觉受体,并不特定于任何一种气味剂。气味剂被一种以上的受体识别,因此气味剂被受体的组合识别。嗅觉系统依赖于不同的激发模式来获得不同气味的不同代码。诺贝尔奖获得者琳达·巴克(Linda B. Buck)将这一系统与不同的字母表组合起来,以产生不同的单词。在这种情况下,每个单词代表一种气味。这个编码解释了为什么我们可以检测到比鼻上皮细胞中的受体更多的气味。
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