Humans and other mammals have a remarkable ability to recognize patterns of visual, auditory, or olfactory cues; deficits in this ability, such as prosopagnosia (face-blindness), can result in significant dysfunction. To better understand the neural processes of pattern recognition, we study the recognition of complex, behaviorally relevant scents in mice. These pheromonal scents are detected and recognized by the accessory olfactory system and convey information about individual characteristics--such as the sex, strain, and estrous status--of other mice. This system is of interest because of the particular compactness and accessibility of the neural circuitry. We will use multielectrode extracellular recording to learn how neurons in the primary sensory organ (the vomeronasal organ) respond to different natural odors. We will also use multielectrode recording and analytical chemistry to learn more about the identity of the individual compounds in these scents, and how these differences are detected by the sensory neurons. These studies will shed light on the properties of natural olfactory stimuli and their neural receptors that underlie olfactory pattern recognition.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DC005964-04
Application #
7174255
Study Section
Somatosensory and Chemosensory Systems Study Section (SCS)
Program Officer
Davis, Barry
Project Start
2004-04-01
Project End
2009-02-28
Budget Start
2007-03-01
Budget End
2008-02-29
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$290,143
Indirect Cost
Name
Washington University
Department
Neurosciences
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
068552207
City
Saint Louis
State
MO
Country
United States
Zip Code
63130
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Barnes, Terra D; Wozniak, David F; Gutierrez, Joanne et al. (2016) A Mutation Associated with Stuttering Alters Mouse Pup Ultrasonic Vocalizations. Curr Biol :
Xu, Pei Sabrina; Lee, Donghoon; Holy, Timothy E (2016) Experience-Dependent Plasticity Drives Individual Differences in Pheromone-Sensing Neurons. Neuron 91:878-892
Barnes, Terra D; Holy, Timothy E (2016) Knockout of Lysosomal Enzyme-Targeting Gene Causes Abnormalities in Mouse Pup Isolation Calls. Front Behav Neurosci 10:237
Sansone, Alfredo; Hassenklöver, Thomas; Offner, Thomas et al. (2015) Dual processing of sulfated steroids in the olfactory system of an anuran amphibian. Front Cell Neurosci 9:373
Fu, Xiaoyan; Yan, Yuetian; Xu, Pei S et al. (2015) A Molecular Code for Identity in the Vomeronasal System. Cell 163:313-23
Yan, Yuetian; Rempel, Don L; Holy, Timothy E et al. (2014) Mass spectrometry combinations for structural characterization of sulfated-steroid metabolites. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 25:869-79
Hammen, Gary F; Turaga, Diwakar; Holy, Timothy E et al. (2014) Functional organization of glomerular maps in the mouse accessory olfactory bulb. Nat Neurosci 17:953-61
Miller, Jae-Eun Kang; Granados-Fuentes, Daniel; Wang, Thomas et al. (2014) Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide mediates circadian rhythms in mammalian olfactory bulb and olfaction. J Neurosci 34:6040-6
Yan, Yuetian; Ubukata, Masaaki; Cody, Robert B et al. (2014) High-energy collision-induced dissociation by MALDI TOF/TOF causes charge-remote fragmentation of steroid sulfates. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 25:1404-11

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