0000000000555314
AUTHOR
Patricia Duchamp-viret
[Thu-P1-027] Pheromone-induced odour learning and outstanding detection abilities in the newborn rabbit
Perception of the wide, complex and changing odour environment requires that the olfactory system engages processing mechanisms ensuring efficient detection and discrimination of stimuli ending in specific motor actions and in adaptation. In newborn rabbits detecting and responding to the mammary pheromone (MP) emitted by the mother is crucial for survival, since the MP is a strong releaser of typical head-searching/oral grasping behaviour allowing to locate and orally grasp the maternal nipples during the daily nursing. Strikingly, the MP also functions as a natural reinforcer, i.e. as an unconditioned stimulus able to promote appetitive conditioning to a new odorant (CS) in a single and v…
New insights in vertebrate >
International audience
New insights in vertebrate 'biotransfolfaction'
International audience
Interactions of odorants with olfactory receptors and receptor neurons match the perceptual dynamics observed for woody and fruity odorant mixtures
The present study aimed to create a direct bridge between observations on peripheral and central responses to odorant mixtures and their components. Three experiments were performed using mixtures of fruity (isoamyl acetate; ISO) and woody (whiskey lactone; WL) odorants known to contribute to some of the major notes in Burgundy red wine. These experiments consisted of (i) calcium imaging of human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293T) transfected with olfactory receptors (ORs); (ii) single-unit electrophysiological recordings from olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) and analyses of electro-olfactogram (EOG) responses in the rat nose in vivo; and (iii) psychophysical measurements of the perceived in…