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The Influence of Odorants on Respiratory Patterns in Sleep.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
To assess the feasibility of using odors as a potential mechanism for treating sleep apnea, we set out to test the hypothesis that odorants delivered during sleep would modify respiratory patterns without inducing arousal or wake in healthy sleepers. We used 2 mildly trigeminal odorants: the pleasant lavender and unpleasant vetiver oil and 2 pure olfactory odorants: the pleasant vanillin and unpleasant ammonium sulfide. During sleep, an olfactometer delivered a transient odorant every 9,12, or 15 min (randomized), providing 21-37 odorant presentations per night. Each of 36 participants was studied for 1 night and with ...
Source: Chemical Senses - November 16, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Arzi A, Sela L, Green A, Givaty G, Dagan Y, Sobel N Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

The Soluble Proteome of the Drosophila Antenna.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The olfactory system of Drosophila melanogaster is one of the best characterized chemosensory systems. Identification of proteins contained in the third antennal segment, the main olfactory organ, has previously relied primarily on immunohistochemistry, and although such studies and in situ hybridization studies are informative, they focus generally on one or few gene products at a time, and quantification is difficult. In addition, purification of native proteins from the antenna is challenging because it is small and encased in a hard cuticle. Here, we describe a simple method for the large-scale detection of soluble...
Source: Chemical Senses - November 16, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Anholt RR, Williams TI Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Subscriptions.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Authors: PMID: 19833654 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - October 17, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Editorial board.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Authors: PMID: 19833655 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - October 17, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Cover.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Authors: PMID: 19833656 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - October 17, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Table of contents.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Authors: PMID: 19833657 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - October 17, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Articles highlighted.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19833658 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - October 17, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Meyerhof W Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Rating a new hedonic scale: a commentary on "derivation and evaluation of a labeled hedonic scale" by lim, wood and green.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19833659 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - October 17, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Prescott J Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Derivation and evaluation of a labeled hedonic scale.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The objective of this study was to develop a semantically labeled hedonic scale (LHS) that would yield ratio-level data on the magnitude of liking/disliking of sensation equivalent to that produced by magnitude estimation (ME). The LHS was constructed by having 49 subjects who were trained in ME rate the semantic magnitudes of 10 common hedonic descriptors within a broad context of imagined hedonic experiences that included tastes and flavors. The resulting bipolar scale is statistically symmetrical around neutral and has a unique semantic structure. The LHS was evaluated quantitatively by comparing it with ME and the 9-po...
Source: Chemical Senses - October 17, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Lim J, Wood A, Green BG Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Double P2X2/P2X3 Purinergic Receptor Knockout Mice Do Not Taste NaCl or the Artificial Sweetener SC45647.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The P2X ionotropic purinergic receptors, P2X2 and P2X3, are essential for transmission of taste information from taste buds to the gustatory nerves. Mice lacking both P2X2 and P2X3 purinergic receptors (P2X2/P2X3(Dbl-/-)) exhibit no taste-evoked activity in the chorda tympani and glossopharyngeal nerves when stimulated with taste stimuli from any of the 5 classical taste quality groups (salt, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami) nor do the mice show taste preferences for sweet or umami, or avoidance of bitter substances (Finger et al. 2005. ATP signaling is crucial for communication from taste buds to gustatory nerves. Scie...
Source: Chemical Senses - October 17, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Eddy MC, Eschle BK, Barrows J, Hallock RM, Finger TE, Delay ER Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Residual Chemosensory Capabilities in Double P2X2/P2X3 Purinergic Receptor Null Mice: Intraoral or Postingestive Detection?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Mice lacking the purinergic receptors, P2X2 and P2X3 (P2X2/P2X3(Dbl-/-)), exhibit essentially no tastant-evoked activity in the chorda tympani and glossopharyngeal nerves and substantial loss of tastant-evoked behavior as measured in long-term intake experiments. To assess whether the residual chemically driven behaviors in these P2X2/P2X3(Dbl-/-) mice were attributable to postingestive detection or oropharyngeal detection of the compounds, we used brief access lickometer tests to assess the behavioral capabilities of the P2X2/P2X3(Dbl-/-) animals. The P2X2/P2X3(Dbl-/-) mice showed avoidance to high levels (10 mM quini...
Source: Chemical Senses - October 17, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Hallock RM, Tatangelo M, Barrows J, Finger TE Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Mexico City Air Pollution Adversely Affects Olfactory Function and Intranasal Trigeminal Sensitivity.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Surprisingly little is known about the effects of big-city air pollution on olfactory function and even less about its effects on the intranasal trigeminal system, which elicits sensations like burning, stinging, pungent, or fresh and contributes to the overall chemosensory experience. Using the Sniffin' Sticks olfactory test battery and an established test for intranasal trigeminal perception, we compared the olfactory performance and trigeminal sensitivity of residents of Mexico City, a region with high air pollution, with the performance of a control population from the Mexican state of Tlaxcala, a geographically co...
Source: Chemical Senses - October 8, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Guarneros M, Hummel T, Martínez-Gómez M, Hudson R Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Prenatal Flavor Exposure Affects Flavor Recognition and Stress-Related Behavior of Piglets.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Exposure to flavors in the amniotic fluid and mother's milk derived from the maternal diet has been shown to modulate food preferences and neophobia of young animals of several species. Aim of the experiment was to study the effects of pre- and postnatal flavor exposure on behavior of piglets during (re)exposure to this flavor. Furthermore, we investigated whether varying stress levels, caused by different test settings, affected behavior of animals during (re)exposure. Piglets were exposed to anisic flavor through the maternal diet during late gestation and/or during lactation or never. Piglets that were prenatally ex...
Source: Chemical Senses - October 7, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Oostindjer M, Bolhuis JE, van den Brand H, Kemp B Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Taste Preference and Nerve Response to 5'-Inosine Monophosphate Are Enhanced by Glutathione in Mice.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Previous human sensory evaluation studies have shown that glutathione (GSH) enhances deliciousness, accompanied by thickness, mouthfulness, and continuity feeling, which is known as "kokumi" in Japanese, in an umami solution containing monosodium glutamate and 5'-inosine monophosphate (IMP). We conducted behavioral and electrophysiological experiments to explore possible interactions of taste effectiveness between GSH and umami substances in mice. The 2-bottle preference test revealed that the mice preferred GSH at concentrations ranging from 1 to 10 mM. When GSH was added to IMP or a mixture of IMP and monopotassium g...
Source: Chemical Senses - September 30, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Yamamoto T, Watanabe U, Fujimoto M, Sako N Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Expression patterns of odorant receptors and response properties of olfactory sensory neurons in aged mice.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The sense of smell deteriorates in normal aging, but the underling mechanisms are still elusive. Here we investigated age-related alterations in expression patterns of odorant receptor (OR) genes and functional properties of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs)-2 critical factors that define the odor detection threshold in the olfactory epithelium. Using in situ hybridization for 9 representative OR genes, we compared the cell densities of each OR in coronal nose sections at different ages (3-27 months). The cell density for different ORs peaked at different time points and a decline was observed for 6 of 9 ORs at advanced...
Source: Chemical Senses - September 19, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Lee AC, Tian H, Grosmaitre X, Ma M Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

High test-retest reliability of the extended version of the "Sniffin' Sticks" test.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In conclusion, the extended test kit allows a precise evaluation of olfactory function, especially when different olfactory tasks are assessed using individual subtests. Furthermore, the high test-retest reliability of both the 16 and the 32-item tests allows the evaluation of even relatively small changes of olfactory function over time by means of either test. PMID: 19759361 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - September 19, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Haehner A, Mayer AM, Landis BN, Pournaras I, Lill K, Gudziol V, Hummel T Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Profiles of volatiles in male rat urine: the effect of puberty on the female attraction.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Rat urine contains many volatile constituents that may be used for chemical communication. The levels of certain urinary volatiles are strongly dependent on the sex and endocrine status (e.g., puberty). We performed chemical and behavioral studies to identify the volatiles in adult male rat urine that attract mature females. Our results demonstrated that adult male rats have higher levels of 2-heptanone (2-HP), 4-methylphenol (4-MP), and 4-ethylphenol (4-EP) than prepubescent male rats; furthermore, female rats are more attracted to the odor of adult male rat urine than that of prepubescent males. When prepubescent rat...
Source: Chemical Senses - September 19, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Osada K, Kashiwayanagi M, Izumi H Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Chemical polymorphism and chemosensory recognition between Iberolacerta monticola lizard color morphs.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In the lizard Iberolacerta monticola, there are 2 discrete color morphs ("blue" vs. "green") that seem to have alternative reproductive strategies. Because scent marking of territories and chemoreception are important in social organization of these lizards, we explored whether there is also chemical polymorphism and chemosensory recognition between color morphs. Analyses by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that adult males of different morphs had similar chemical compounds in femoral gland secretions, but the proportions of some shared chemicals were different; blue morph males had higher proportions of ste...
Source: Chemical Senses - September 19, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: López P, Moreira PL, Martín J Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Role of Olfaction in the Conditioned Sucrose Preference of Sweet-Ageusic T1R3 Knockout Mice.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Prior work has shown that sweet taste-deficient T1R3 knockout (KO) mice developed significant sucrose preferences when given long-term sugar versus water tests. The current study investigated the role of olfaction in this experience-conditioned sucrose preference. T1R3 KO and C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) mice were given 24-h sugar versus water tests with ascending concentrations of sucrose (0.5-32%), after which the mice received olfactory bulbectomy (OBx) or sham surgery. When retested with sucrose, the Sham-KO mice preferred all sugar solutions to water, although their intake and preference were less than those of the Sham...
Source: Chemical Senses - September 6, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Zukerman S, Touzani K, Margolskee RF, Sclafani A Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Taste Coding after Selective Inhibition by Chlorhexidine.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Coding of the complex tastes of ionic stimuli in humans was studied by combining taste confusion matrix (TCM) methodology and treatment with chlorhexidine gluconate. The TCM evaluates discrimination of multiple stimuli simultaneously. Chlorhexidine, a bis-biguanide antiseptic, reversibly inhibits salty taste and tastes of a subset of bitter stimuli, including quinine hydrochloride. Identifications of salty (NaCl, "salt"), bitter (quinine.HCl, "quinine"), sweet (sucrose, "sugar"), and sour (citric acid, "acid") prototypes, alone and as components of binary mixtures, were measured under 4 conditions. One was a water-rins...
Source: Chemical Senses - August 23, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Wang MF, Marks LE, Frank ME Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Design and Evaluation of New Analogs of the Sweet Protein Brazzein.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We have previously modeled the interaction of the sweet protein brazzein with the extracellular domains of the sweet taste receptor. Here, we describe the application of that model to the design of 12 new highly potent analogs of brazzein. Eight of the 12 analogs have higher sweetness potency than wild-type brazzein. Results are consistent with our brazzein-receptor interaction model. The model predicts binding of brazzein to the open form of T1R2 in the T1R2-T1R3 heterodimer. PMID: 19696120 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - August 19, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Walters DE, Cragin T, Jin Z, Rumbley JN, Hellekant G Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Seasonal Increase in Olfactory Receptor Neurons of the Japanese Toad, Bufo japonicus, is Paralleled by an Increase in Olfactory Sensitivity to Isoamyl Acetate.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Japanese toads (Bufo japonicus) migrate to and from breeding sites in the early spring, possibly guided by olfactory cues. We previously showed that the electrical activity of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in the toads was enhanced in the breeding period. We undertook morphological and physiological studies of the olfactory epithelium to determine whether any cellular substrate of the epithelium underlies the enhanced electrical activity of ORNs. The ORNs of the toads were labeled by antiserum to olfactory marker protein (OMP), and the morphology of the labeled cells and their distribution in the epithelium were ex...
Source: Chemical Senses - July 29, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Nakazawa H, Ichikawa M, Nagai T Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Impact of Novel Olfactory Stimuli at Supra and Subthreshold Concentrations on the Perceived Sweetness of Sucrose after Associative Learning.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The impact of coexposure to a novel olfactory stimulation in combination with sweet taste on the construction of perceptual interaction was studied. The first objective was to explore whether a new flavoring perceived retronasally at a subthreshold concentration could enhance the perceived sweetness after a coexposure with sucrose using an approach encouraging associative learning. After validating the associative learning by showing an increase of the perceived sweetness by the flavoring at a suprathreshold concentration, we showed that the flavoring stimulation did not impact the perceived sweetness when presented at...
Source: Chemical Senses - July 23, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Labbe D, Martin N Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Responses of the Hamster Chorda Tympani Nerve to Sucrose+Acid and Sucrose+Citrate Taste Mixtures.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Studies of taste receptor cells, chorda tympani (CT) neurons, and brainstem neurons show stimulus interactions in the form of inhibition or enhancement of the effectiveness of sucrose when mixed with acids or citrate salts, respectively. To investigate further the effects of acids and the trivalent citrate anion on sucrose responses in hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), we recorded multifiber CT responses to 100 mM sucrose; a concentration series of HCl, citric acid, acetic acid, sodium citrate (with and without amiloride added), potassium citrate, and all binary combinations of acids and salts with 100 mM sucrose. Compa...
Source: Chemical Senses - July 19, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Formaker BK, Lin H, Hettinger TP, Frank ME Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Histological Properties of the Nasal Cavity and Olfactory Bulb of the Japanese Jungle Crow Corvus macrorhynchos.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The nasal cavity and olfactory bulb (OB) of the Japanese jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) were studied using computed tomography (CT) and histochemical staining. The nasal septum divided the nasal cavity in half. The anterior and maxillary conchae were present on both sides of the nasal cavity, but the posterior concha was indistinct. A small OB was present on the ventral surface of the periphery of the cerebrum. The OB-brain ratio-the ratio of the size of the OB to that of the cerebral hemisphere-was 6.13. The olfactory nerve bundles projected independently to the OB, which appeared fused on gross examination. Histo...
Source: Chemical Senses - July 19, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Yokosuka M, Hagiwara A, Saito TR, Tsukahara N, Aoyama M, Wakabayashi Y, Sugota S, Ichikawa M Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Odor Interaction between Bourgeonal and Its Antagonist Undecanal.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The perceived quality of a binary mixture will, as a rule of thumb, be dominated by the quality of the stronger unmixed component. On the other hand, there are mechanisms that, in theory, suggest that this will not always be true; one example being receptor antagonism. Undecanal has been indicated as an antagonist for bourgeonal-sensitive receptors in the human olfactory epithelium. Therefore, we investigated mixtures of isointense concentrations of bourgeonal and undecanal and, as a control, mixtures of isointense concentrations of bourgeonal and n-butanol. Both mixture types were investigated at 2 levels of concentra...
Source: Chemical Senses - July 19, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Brodin M, Laska M, Olsson MJ Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Discrimination of "Odorless" Mineral Oils Alone and as Diluents by Behaviorally Trained Mice.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Odorant diluents are generally chosen because of their odorless qualities, allowing them to dilute a target odorant without otherwise altering its perception. Unpublished observations from our laboratory, however, suggest that mineral oil (MO), a common diluent for oil-based odorants, may possess a distinct odor when used in the behavioral testing of mice. To test this, mice were trained to discriminate between 4 brands of MO, using a commercial, liquid-dilution olfactometer and a 2-odorant discrimination task. The results demonstrate that mice were able to detect MOs and to discriminate between MO pairs obtained from ...
Source: Chemical Senses - July 15, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Gamble KR, Smith DW Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Morphometry of Olfactory Lamellae and Olfactory Receptor Neurons during the Life History of Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta).Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
It is generally accepted that anadromous Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) imprint to odorants in their natal streams during their seaward migration and use olfaction to identify these during their homeward migration. Despite the importance of the olfactory organ during olfactory imprinting, the development of this structure is not well understood in Pacific salmon. Olfactory cues from the environment are relayed to the brain by the olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in the olfactory organ. Thus, we analyzed morphometric changes in olfactory lamellae of the peripheral olfactory organ and in the quantity of ORNs during...
Source: Chemical Senses - July 7, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Kudo H, Shinto M, Sakurai Y, Kaeriyama M Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Changes in Sweet Taste Across Pregnancy in Mild Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Relationship to Endocrine Factors.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study longitudinally assessed sweet taste changes across pregnancy in women who developed GDM (n = 15) as compared with women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT; n = 93) and nonpregnant controls (n = 19). A second objective was to relate sweet taste changes in GDM to fasting leptin and insulin profiles. Following an overnight fast, subjects evaluated strawberry-flavored milks varying in sucrose and fat content, as well as glucose solutions. Evaluations were made at 3 time points during pregnancy and during early postpartum. At 34-38 weeks gestation, women with GDM gave higher liking ratings to moderately sweetened (5%...
Source: Chemical Senses - July 7, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Belzer LM, Smulian JC, Lu SE, Tepper BJ Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Olfactory Nerve Recovery following Mild and Severe Injury and the Efficacy of Dexamethasone Treatment.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
To investigate factors that influence the degree of neural regeneration and recovery, we studied 2 olfactory nerve injury models. Transection of the olfactory nerves along the surface of the olfactory bulb was performed in OMP-tau-lacZ mice using either a flexible Teflon blade (mild injury) or a stainless steel blade (severe injury). Histological assessment of recovery within the olfactory bulb was made at 5, 14, and 42 days after injury. We used X-gal staining to label the degenerating and regenerating olfactory nerve fibers and immunohistochemical staining to detect the presence of reactive astrocytes and macrophages...
Source: Chemical Senses - July 2, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Kobayashi M, Costanzo RM Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Potential chemosignals associated with male identity in the amphisbaenian Blanus cinereus.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Pheromone-based chemosensory sex discrimination occurs in many reptiles, but the specific chemosignals responsible for this discrimination have been rarely identified. Chemoreception is especially important for amphisbaenians, a group of fossorial, almost blind, reptiles. We analyzed the role of semiochemicals produced by precloacal glands in intraspecific communication and chemosensory sex recognition of the amphisbaenian Blanus cinereus. We expected that sexual discrimination in amphisbaenians would be based on those chemicals that show intersexual differences in precloacal secretions, with squalene being the chemica...
Source: Chemical Senses - June 28, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: López P, Martín J Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Swallowing is differentially influenced by retronasal compared with orthonasal stimulation in combination with gustatory stimuli.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Identical stimuli are processed differently when presented ortho- or retronasally. In contrast to orthonasal olfaction, retronasal odorant perception is strongly associated with flavor and food intake, which is usually followed by swallowing. Along with other stimuli, gustatory stimuli are known to influence the swallowing reflex. It was therefore the aim of present study to examine whether retronasal olfaction, in combination with simultaneous gustatory stimuli, influences swallowing in a manner different from that of orthonasal olfaction. Fifty normosmic and normogeusic subjects took part in the study. A sweet taste ...
Source: Chemical Senses - June 28, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Welge-Lüssen A, Ebnöther M, Wolfensberger M, Hummel T Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Orosensory responsiveness to and preference for hydroxide-containing salts in mice.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Historically, taste researchers have considered the possibility that the gustatory system detects basic compounds, such as those containing the hydroxide ion, but evidence for an "alkaline taste" has not been strong. We found that, in 48 h, 2-bottle preference tests, C3HeB/FeJ (C3) mice showed a preference for Ca(OH)(2), whereas SWR/J (SW) mice showed avoidance. Strain differences were also apparent to NaOH but not CaCl(2). Follow-up studies showed that the strain difference for Ca(OH)(2) was stable over time (Experiment 2) but that C3 and SW mice did not differ in their responses to Ca(OH)(2) or NaOH in brief-access t...
Source: Chemical Senses - June 28, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: St John SJ, Boughter JD Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Nearest neural neighbors: moth sex pheromone receptors HR11 and HR13.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In moth sex pheromone olfaction systems, there is a stereotypical co-compartmentalization of two or sometimes three olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) within single trichoid sensilla on which pheromone-sensitive odorant receptors (ORs) are differentially expressed. In this issue of Chemical Senses, Krieger et al. show through elegant double and triple in situ hybridization studies that in the moth, Heliothis virescens, a pheromone component-related OR (HR11) is expressed on an ORN that is reliably cocompartmentalized in the same sensillum as another OR (HR13) whose ligand is known to be (Z)-11-hexadecenal, the H. viresc...
Source: Chemical Senses - June 28, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Baker TC Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

The role of the human hippocampus in odor-place associative memory.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Hippocampal lesions in rodents impair both object-place and odor-place associative memory. Subjects with hippocampal damage have impaired associative memory such as object-place memory. Whereas studies have investigated some types of associative memory, no investigation has specifically examined odor-place associative memory in subjects with well-defined amnesia. It is unknown whether amnesic subjects with hippocampal damage would be impaired on an odor-place associative task. We investigated the effect of hippocampal damage in amnesic subjects with hippocampal atrophy on odor-place associative memory and recognition m...
Source: Chemical Senses - June 28, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Goodrich-Hunsaker NJ, Gilbert PE, Hopkins RO Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Human pheromone detection by the vomeronasal organ: unnecessary for mate selection?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Recently, Foltan and Sedy proposed a hypothesis stating that the adult human VNO is integral to the prevention of inappropriate mate selection. In this commentary, we address the authors' assumption that humans have a functional VNO, that pheromones are detected exclusively by the VNO, and that human pheromones are responsible for negative stimuli during mate selection. After examining the published literature on human vomeronasal function, we argue that their hypothesis is critically flawed. We offer a brief review of the adult human VNO in support of our argument. PMID: 19477954 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - June 28, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Mast TG, Samuelsen CL Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Identification and expression pattern of putative odorant-binding proteins and chemosensory proteins in antennae of the Microplitis mediator (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, preliminary characterization and isolation of cDNAs from male M. mediator antennal libraries identified 8 putative odorant-binding proteins (OBPs). Real-time polymerase chain reaction method was used to study the expression pattern of these isolated genes. Their gene expression profiles under a wide range of conditions indicated that only 4 OBP genes in M. mediator were antenna specific. The remaining 4 genes are either expressed ubiquitously or strictly regulated in specialized tissues or during different developmental stages. Some OBP genes were gender specific. These findings support that OBPs play dynami...
Source: Chemical Senses - June 28, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Zhang S, Zhang YJ, Su HH, Gao XW, Guo YY Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Comparison between odor thresholds for phenyl ethyl alcohol and butanol.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DISCUSSION: The results indicate that threshold testing with PEA is an alternative to butanol. The wide step method provided similar results as the narrow step method but required less time. PMID: 19525318 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - June 28, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Croy I, Lange K, Krone F, Negoias S, Seo HS, Hummel T Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Human Axillary Odor: Are There Side-Related Perceptual Differences?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In conclusion, future studies using axillary odor samples can consider left and right samples as perceptually equivalent stimuli when the participant samples are representative of the general population, which comprises relatively low proportions of left-handed men and spontaneously ovulating fertile women. The results also provide new evidence of the variation of female sensitivity to biologically relevant stimuli across the menstrual cycle. PMID: 19556335 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - June 24, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Ferdenzi C, Schaal B, Roberts SC Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Enhancement of Odorant-Induced Responses in Olfactory Receptor Neurons by Zinc Nanoparticles.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Zinc metal nanoparticles in picomolar concentrations strongly enhance odorant responses of olfactory sensory neurons. One- to 2-nm metallic particles contain 40-300 zinc metal atoms, which are not in an ionic state. We exposed rat olfactory epithelium to metal nanoparticles and measured odorant responses by electroolfactogram and whole-cell patch clamp. A small amount of zinc nanoparticles added to an odorant or an extracellular/intracellular particle perfusion strongly increases the odorant response in a dose-dependent manner. Zinc nanoparticles alone produce no odor effects. Copper, gold, or silver nanoparticles do n...
Source: Chemical Senses - June 11, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Viswaprakash N, Dennis JC, Globa L, Pustovyy O, Josephson EM, Kanju P, Morrison EE, Vodyanoy VJ Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Molecular Tuning of Odorant Receptors and Its Implication for Odor Signal Processing.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The discovery of the odorant receptor (OR) family by Buck and Axel in 1991 provided a quantum jump in our understanding of olfactory function. However, the study of the responsiveness of ORs to odor ligands was challenging due to the difficulties in deorphanizing the receptors. In this manuscript, we review recent findings of OR responsiveness that have come about through improved OR deorphanization methods, site-directed mutagenesis, structural modeling studies, and studies of OR responses in situ in olfactory sensory neurons. Although there has been a major leap in our understanding of receptor-ligand interactions an...
Source: Chemical Senses - June 11, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Reisert J, Restrepo D Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Test-retest reliability of the San Diego Odor Identification Test and comparison with the brief smell identification test.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In conclusion, the SDOIT showed good test-retest reliability. Agreement for impaired/abnormal olfaction was demonstrated for the SDOIT and the B-SIT. PMID: 19363087 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - May 31, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Krantz EM, Schubert CR, Dalton DS, Zhong W, Huang GH, Klein BE, Klein R, Nieto FJ, Cruickshanks KJ Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

An odor stimulator controlling odor temporal pattern applicable in insect olfaction study.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The olfactory system of an insect brain codes for information about odorant quality and quantity using the temporal pattern of neural activity as well as neurons' firing. Although an accurate odor temporal pattern is indispensable for investigations of olfactory systems, it is difficult to control in conventional odor stimulators. To overcome this problem, we fabricated an odor stimulator that can control the odor temporal pattern. The stimulator has 3 major parts: an "odor conditioner," with odor-laden air prepared with known concentrations of odorants; a Pitot tube; and a small wind tunnel of laminar flow. Using this...
Source: Chemical Senses - May 31, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Okada K, Sakuma M Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Post-oral and perioral stimulations during nursing enhance appetitive olfactory memory in neonatal rabbits.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Nursing-suckling interactions facilitate olfactory learning in newborns as long as suckling and the olfactory stimulus temporally overlap. We tested the hypothesis that olfactory preferences would develop even with a long delay between odor presentation and nursing. Thyme was presented to 2-day-old rabbit pups by placing an odorized plate 2 cm above their nest box. Duration and time of nursing were controlled and occurred before, during, or after odor presentation. Controls were not nursed. When exposed to the odor for 15 min, control pups preferred thyme to a novel odor in a 2-choice test immediately after exposure bu...
Source: Chemical Senses - May 31, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Serra J, Ferreira G, Mirabito L, Lévy F, Nowak R Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Water taste transduction pathway is calcium dependent in Drosophila.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In mammals, detection of osmolarity by the gustatory system was overlooked until recently. In insects, specific taste receptor neurons detect hypoosmotic stimuli and are commonly called "W" (water) cells. W cells are easy to access in vivo and represent a good model to study the transduction of hypoosmotic stimuli. Using pharmacological and genetic approaches in Drosophila, we show that tarsal W cell firing activity depends on the concentration of external calcium bathing the dendrite. This dependence was confirmed by the strong inhibition of W cell responses to hypoosmotic stimuli by lanthanum (IC(50) = 8 nM), an ion ...
Source: Chemical Senses - May 31, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Meunier N, Marion-Poll F, Lucas P Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Olfactory cilia: linking sensory cilia function and human disease.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The olfactory system gives us an awareness of our immediate environment by allowing us to detect airborne stimuli. The components necessary for detection of these odorants are compartmentalized in the cilia of olfactory sensory neurons. Cilia are microtubule-based organelles, which can be found projecting from the surface of almost any mammalian cell, and are critical for proper olfactory function. Mislocalization of ciliary proteins and/or the loss of cilia cause impaired olfactory function, which is now recognized as a clinical manifestation of a broad class of human diseases, termed ciliopathies. Future work investi...
Source: Chemical Senses - May 31, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Jenkins PM, McEwen DP, Martens JR Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Approaches can range from molecular to behavioral to ecological, and papers integrating multiple approaches are encouraged.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Authors: PMID: 19443610 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chemical Senses)
Source: Chemical Senses - May 31, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Oral Thresholds and Suprathreshold Intensity Ratings for Free Fatty Acids on 3 Tongue Sites in Humans: Implications for Transduction Mechanisms.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Multiple putative free fatty acid (FFA) transduction mechanisms have been identified in the oral cavity. They reportedly differ in their distribution on the tongue and each has a unique range of ligand specificities. This suggests that there should be regional differences in sensory responses to varying FFAs. This was assessed through spatial testing with caproic (C), lauric (L), and stearic (S) FFAs among 35 healthy adults. Stimuli were applied to the fungiform (FU), foliate (FO), and circumvallate (CV) papillae with a cotton-tipped applicator. Oral detection thresholds were measured by an ascending, 3-alternative, fo...
Source: Chemical Senses - April 8, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Mattes RD Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Role of Plasma Membrane Calcium ATPases in Calcium Clearance from Olfactory Sensory Neurons.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Odorants cause Ca(2+) to rise in olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) first within the ciliary compartment, then in the dendritic knob, and finally in the cell body. Ca(2+) not only excites but also produces negative feedback on the transduction pathway. To relieve this Ca(2+)-dependent adaptation, Ca(2+) must be cleared from the cilia and dendritic knob by mechanisms that are not well understood. This work focuses on the roles of plasma membrane calcium pumps (PMCAs) through the use of inhibitors and mice missing 1 of the 4 PMCA isoforms (PMCA2). We demonstrate a significant contribution of PMCAs in addition to contributi...
Source: Chemical Senses - March 20, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Saidu SP, Weeraratne SD, Valentine M, Delay R, Van Houten JL Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals

Morphological and Physiological Characteristics of the Serotonin-Immunoreactive Neuron in the Antennal Lobe of the Male Oriental Tobacco Budworm, Helicoverpa assulta.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We have characterized, by intracellular recording and staining combined with immunocytochemistry, a serotonin-immunoreactive neuron in the central olfactory pathway of the male moth Helicoverpa assulta. The neuron joins the unique category of so-called SI antennal-lobe neurons, previously described in several insect species. In similarity with that originally discovered in the sphinx moth Manduca sexta, the neuron identified here has a large soma located posteriorly in the lateral cell cluster of the antennal lobe and an unbranched neurite projecting into the ipsilateral protocerebrum via the inner antennocerebral trac...
Source: Chemical Senses - March 20, 2009 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Zhao XC, Berg BG Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: journals