Neuroscientist to discuss sense of smell and why we're indifferent to scents

Tyler S. Lorig, the Ruth Parmly Professor and chair of the Neuroscience Program at Washington and Lee University, will discuss "Scents and Sensibility: The Intersection of Odor and Cognition" at Virginia Tech Monday, Oct. 11, at 4 p.m. in 120 Williams Hall (located on Drillfield Drive next to Burruss Hall).

Humans can recognize more than 10,000 odors, ranging from perfume to decaying matter. Lorig's research concerns the perception of smells. He seeks to understand why humans have such substantial neural resources dedicated to smell, yet are so indifferent to scents. Just this week, two American scientists, one from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Columbia University in New York and one from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, won the Nobel Prize for determining how our senses of smell function.

Lorig received his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in 1983 and did post-doctoral training at Yale University. He is the author of more than 50 scientific papers and chapters. He is a Fellow in the International Organization of Psychophysiology, a member of the scientific advisory board for the Sense of Smell Institute, and has served on a variety of National Institutes of Health study sections.

Lorig's talk, sponsored by the Department of Psychology in the College of Science, is open to the public at no charge. For further information, call (540) 231-9627.