Certain territories in Czechoslovakia, including those toward which the present project is being oriented, are among the most polluted in Europe. Czechoslovakia itself, as a result of its recent history, is unable to solve the related problems in the near future without the help of developed countries. The present project, however, does not rely solely upon unilateral support from the US. Instead, by combining specific scientific and methodological experience and technical expertise of the Monell Center along with that of the Department of Psychophysiology, Institute of Physiology, Czechoslovak Academy of Science, we propose to formulate a long-lasting, collaborative research program that combines, in a fruitful manner, the unique advantages of both cooperating institutions. The present conditions in Czechoslovakia, albeit unfortunate, provide a hopefully transient ecological condition to allow exploration of the effects of pollutants on sensory perception of chemicals in the environment via olfaction and chemesthesis. Knowledge gained from these investigations should have an impact on fundamental issues related to these sensory systems, but it too may have utility in other situations that experience significant airborne pollution. I wish to conduct research at the Monell Center to become acquainted with human olfactory psychophysical testing and olfactometry (used to control delivery of olfactory stimuli) so that I can return to Czechoslovakia to initiate experiments in human olfaction under conditions of extreme ambient air pollution and compare the effects of this environmental disaster with results obtained from relatively pollution-free zones in Czechoslovakia. I have considerable training in recording human EEG and event-related potentials (ERPs) and wish to combine my current expertise with the skills to be acquired during research visits to the Monell Center. Dr. Wysocki and his colleagues at the Monell Center do not yet have the capacity to undertake studies of human EEG and olfactory ERPs and will learn from me the methods and approaches that are utilized in my laboratory. They also will obtain answers to long-standing questions for which they have sought answers. Hence, the proposed project is both a joint research collaboration and a mutual training strategy. Interestingly, this particular line of research is receiving focused attention by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD. NIDCD is sponsoring a workshop on olfactory ERPs at the 1992 Annual Meeting of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences. Olfactory ERPs have been utilized in fundamental research on olfaction. This workshop seeks to direct ERPs toward a diagnostic use. Dr. Wysocki, representing the Monell-Jefferson Chemosensory Clinical Research Center, is a participant in this workshop.
| Wysocki, Charles J; Cowart, Beverly J; Radil, Tomas (2003) Nasal trigeminal chemosensitivity across the adult life span. Percept Psychophys 65:115-22 |
