14. Prenatal and postnatal human olfactory development: influence on cognition and behavior

This chapter focuses on the importance of ontogeny and early experience in understanding human olfaction. It examines the emergence of the anatomy and function of nasal chemo sensation, including its development in young organisms as they gain sophistication in sensory-motor and cognitive skills. The chapter summarizes adaptive responses to odour exhibited by infants and young children, including newborns, in individual and social contexts. It studies functional onset of nasochemoreception in both animal and human infants. The chapter further considers the adaptive roles of olfaction in the succession of transitions that are typical of mammals, emphasizing the human case. It explains involvement of olfaction in infants' and children's behaviour in affiliative networks within and outside the family. Finally, the chapter assesses the long-term consequences of early exposure to odorants