The pathway for olfaction goes from the olfactory bulb to the amygdala and the piriform cortex. From there the signal is transmitted to the orbitofrontal cortex. Olfaction, unlike the other senses, does not synapse in the thalamus before higher processing. the olfactory bulb is basically a bundle of nerves from the cranial nerves, and this bundles of nerves sends little projections through the cribriform plate into the olfactory epithelium.