The Regenerative Capabilities of Olfactory Neurons: Q&A with Stuart Firestein
Exploring smell, taste, and consciousness with Dr. Stuart Firestein, one of the world’s leading experts on olfaction.
“In the olfactory system, it’s true that you can regrow neurons. There is a population of stem cells, they’re normally quiet, but in the case of an injury or the loss of the sensory neurons above them, they will come back to life and they’ll bud off new neurons.”
— Stuart Firestein, Neurobiologist
In this provocative conversation, the topic of smell, taste and consciousness is explored with Professor Stuart Firestein, one of the world’s experts on olfaction and taste.
Stuart Firestein is an esteemed neuroscientist who specializes in the olfactory system — why and how our brains and noses sense smell. Stuart Firestein is the former chair of Columbia University’s Department of Biological Sciences and a neuroscience professor, where his laboratory studies the vertebrate olfactory system, possibly the best chemical detector on the face of the planet.
