Search results for "Olfactory system"
showing 10 items of 92 documents
Role of the vomeronasal system in intersexual attraction in female mice
2008
Although it is generally accepted that rodents' sociosexual behavior relies mainly on chemosignals, the specific roles played by the vomeronasal and olfactory systems in detecting these signals are presently unclear. This work reports the results of three experiments aimed at clarifying the role of the vomeronasal system on gender recognition and intersexual attraction, by analyzing the effects of lesions of the accessory olfactory bulbs (AOB) in chemically naive female mice. The first experiment demonstrates that lesions of the AOB abolish the preference that females show for male-soiled bedding in tests in which the females can contact the bedding, thus having access to both volatile and …
Use of ultrasonic vocalizations to assess olfactory detection in mouse pups treated with 3-methylindole.
2005
International audience; Altricial mammals use olfaction long before the olfactory bulb has reached its anatomically mature state. Indeed, while audition and vision are still not functional, the olfactory system of newborn animals can clearly process distinct odorant molecules. Although several previous studies have emphasized the important role that olfaction plays in early critical functions, it has been difficult to develop a sensitive and reliable test to precisely quantify olfactory ability in pups. One difficulty in determining early sensory capabilities is the rather limited behavioral repertory of neonates. The present study examines the use of ultrasonic vocalizations emitted by iso…
Multicenter investigation of 1,036 subjects using a standardized method for the assessment of olfactory function combining tests of odor identificati…
2000
“Sniffin’ Sticks” is a test of nasal chemosensory performance that is based on penlike odor-dispensing devices. It is comprised of three tests of olfactory function: tests for odor threshold, discrimination and identification. Previous work has already established its test-retest reliability and validity in comparison to established measures of olfactory sensitivity. The results of this test are presented as a composite TDI score – i.e., the sum of results obtained for threshold, discrimination and identification measures. The present multicenter investigation aimed at providing normative values in relation to different age groups. To this end, 966 patients were investigated in 11 centers. …
Olfactory function in children assessed with psychophysical and electrophysiological techniques
2007
International audience; The olfactory information processing abilities of children undergo changes during early life. The aims of the present study were to describe these changes and to probe for their electrophysiological correlates. These aims were investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, responses of 146 subjects (3-12 years) were tested with psychophysical tools. Approximately 2/3 of the subjects completed the olfactory tests ("Sniffin' Sticks"). In Experiment 2, 12 additional subjects (3-10 years) were tested with electrophysiological tools. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in response to olfactory stimulation with H(2)S. Results from Experiment 1 indicated that d…
Essential Oils and Pure Volatile Compounds as Potential Drugs in Alzheimer's Disease Therapy: An Updated Review of the Literature
2016
Background: The use of aromatic plants to relief different illness is not a new therapy. Actually aromatic plants have been used for many centuries by different cultures around the world. Pharmacological studies provide scientific support to the traditional use of aromatic medicinal plants and aromatherapy; nevertheless, more clinical trials are required regarding to their effectiveness in order to establish a guidance for their use in routine healthcare. Moreover, modern medicine in studies about olfactory function has attained great achievements and got Nobel Prize in 2004. These new searches have obviously fueled interest in the essential oils and volatile compounds of natural origin. Se…
Clinical application of adult olfactory bulb ensheathing glia for nervous system repair
2011
Abstract The ability of adult olfactory bulb ensheathing glia (OB-OEG) to promote histological and functional neural repair has been broadly documented. Pre-clinical studies show that beneficial effects of adult OB-OEG are repeatable in the same type of spinal cord injury initially tested, in other spinal cord and CNS injury models, in different species and after the administration of these cells in different forms (either alone or in combination with other cells, drugs, products or devices). These studies demonstrate the reproducibility, robustness, fundamental nature and relevance of the findings. Therefore, the use of adult OB-OEG for spinal cord injury repair meets the scientific criter…
Synaptogenesis in the mouse olfactory bulb during glomerulus development
2008
Synaptogenesis is essential for the development of neuronal networks in the brain. In the olfactory bulb (OB) glomeruli, numerous synapses must form between sensory olfactory neurons and the dendrites of mitral/tufted and periglomerular cells. Glomeruli develop from E13 to E16 in the mouse, coincident with an increment of the neuropil in the border between the external plexiform (EPL) and olfactory nerve layers (ONL), coupled to an extensive labelling of phalloidin and GAP-43 from the ONL to EPL. We have tracked synaptogenesis in the OB during this period by electron microscopy (EM) and immunolabelling of the transmembrane synaptic vesicle glycoprotein SV-2. No SV-2 labelling or synapses we…
Bilateral olfactory deprivation reveals a selective noradrenergic regulatory input to the olfactory bulb.
2001
Unilateral olfactory deprivation in the rat induces changes in the catecholaminergic system of the olfactory bulb. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that unilateral deprivation does not fully prevent stimulation of the deprived bulb. The present report analyses the response of the catecholaminergic system of the olfactory bulb in fully deprived rats obtained by bilateral naris occlusion. The complete deprivation produces more rapid and dramatic changes in both the intrinsic and extrinsic catecholaminergic systems of the olfactory bulb. Intrinsic responses involve a rapid decrease in dopamine-containing cells to about 25% of controls, correlated with a decreased Fos expression in juxtaglomerul…
Types of cholecystokinin-containing periglomerular cells in the mouse olfactory bulb
2010
The periglomerular cells (PG) of the olfactory bulb (OB) are involved in the primary processing and the refinement of sensory information from the olfactory epithelium. The neurochemical composition of these neurons has been studied in depth in many species, and over the last decades such studies have focused mainly on the rat. The increasing use of genetic models for research into olfactory function demands a profound characterization of the mouse olfactory bulb, including the chemical composition of bulbar interneurons. Regarding both their connectivity with the olfactory nerve and their neurochemical fate, recently, two different types of PG have been identfied in the mouse. In the prese…
Perforated Patch-clamp Recording of Mouse Olfactory Sensory Neurons in Intact Neuroepithelium: Functional Analysis of Neurons Expressing an Identifie…
2015
Analyzing the physiological responses of olfactory sensory neurons (OSN) when stimulated with specific ligands is critical to understand the basis of olfactory-driven behaviors and their modulation. These coding properties depend heavily on the initial interaction between odor molecules and the olfactory receptor (OR) expressed in the OSNs. The identity, specificity and ligand spectrum of the expressed OR are critical. The probability to find the ligand of the OR expressed in an OSN chosen randomly within the epithelium is very low. To address this challenge, this protocol uses genetically tagged mice expressing the fluorescent protein GFP under the control of the promoter of defined ORs. O…