 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Anterior olfactory nucleus" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Anterior olfactory nucleus | |
|---|---|
 Human brainstem anterior view (Anterior olfactory nucleus is not labeled, but region is visible at center top, approximately between the "2" and the "3".) | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | nucleus olfactorius anterior |
| NeuroNames | 280 |
| NeuroLex ID | birnlex_1085 |
| TA98 | A14.1.09.416 |
| TA2 | 5543 |
| FMA | 77628 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
Theanterior olfactory nucleus(AON) also called theanterior olfactory cortex, is a major early processing area forolfaction located behind theolfactory bulb, and in theolfactory tract (olfactory peduncle). The AON connects the olfactory processing centres of bothhemispheres.[1]
It is involved in thesense of smell (olfaction), and has influence on other olfactory areas including the olfactory bulb and thepiriform cortex.[2][3] The AON is one of the major secondary structures of olfaction.[4]
The AON is found behind theolfactory bulb and in front of thepiriform cortex (laterally) andolfactory tubercle (medially) in theolfactory tract (also olfactory peduncle) or retrobulbar area.[5][6] The peduncle contains the AON as well as two other much smaller regions, the ventral and dorsaltenia tecta.
The AON plays a pivotal but relatively poorly understood role in the processing of odor information.
Odors enter the nose (or olfactory rosette in fishes) and interact with the cilia ofolfactory receptor neurons. The information is sent via theolfactory nerve (CNI) to the olfactory bulb. After processing in the bulb the signal is transmitted caudally via the axons ofmitral cells, andtufted cells in the lateral olfactory tract. The tract forms on the ventrolateral surface of the brain and passes through the AON, continuing on to run the length of thepiriform cortex, while synapsing in both regions. The AON distributes the information to the contralateral olfactory bulb and piriform cortex as well as engaging in reciprocal interactions with the ipsilateral bulb and cortex. Therefore, the AON is positioned to regulate information flow between nearly every region where odor information processing occurs.
The AON is composed of two separate structures:
