I want a dog nose too! 👃😄 Or how blind dogs can still see!
"... Their noses hold between 200 million and 1 billion odor molecule sensors, compared with the 5 million receptors estimated to dwell in a human nose. And dogs’ olfactory bulbs can be up to 30 times larger than people’s. ...
But one tract was totally new. ... connected the olfactory bulb to the occipital lobe, the part of the dog brain that handles vision. “There have been lots of people who theorized that this connection existed, based on the behavior of trained dogs and detection dogs,” ... But this newfound connection between smell and sight suggests that the two are intricately linked. Perhaps this anatomical link could be why smell can often compensate when a dog’s sight goes ... “Blind dogs can still play fetch.” ..."
From the abstract:
"The domestic dog’s olfactory sense is widely recognized as being highly sensitive with a diverse function, however, little is known about the structure of their olfactory system. This study examined a cohort of mixed sex mesaticephalic canines and used Diffusion MRI (DTI), to map connections from the olfactory bulb to other cortical regions of the brain. The results were validated using the Klingler dissection method. An extensive pathway composed of five white matter tracts connecting to the occipital lobe, cortical spinal tract, limbic system, piriform lobe and entorhinal pathway was identified. This is the first documentation of a direct connection between the olfactory bulb and occipital lobe in any species and is a step towards further understanding how the dog integrates olfactory stimuli in their cognitive function. ..."
Extensive Connections of the Canine Olfactory Pathway Revealed by Tractography and Dissection (no public access)
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