The main olfactory and vomeronasal systems are major chemosensory systems that guide animal behavior in response to changing environmental cues. The dual olfactory system hypothesis postulates that these two systems comprise parallel pathways through the telencephalon and, by virtue of these connections, are involved in different aspects of behavioral response to chemical stimuli. Recent findings indicate that neurons in the main olfactory and vomeronasal systems terminate in different nuclei of the amygdaloid complex and converge on other telencephalic nuclei. These anatomical relationships and the roles of the central neural structures involved in response to prey-derived chemicals are the subjects of our research. We are using snakes to study the vomeronasal and olfactory systems and the interactions between these two systems because snakes have extraordinary well-developed vomeronasal systems that are of critical importance in naturally occurring behaviors such as courtship, prey discrimination and aggregation. Parallel work in other laboratories using mammals has demonstrated the applicability and generality of our findings to other vertebrates. We will continue to explore the anatomical connections of these systems and to study the roles of their central nervous system components in responding to prey chemicals by determining the effects of various lesions on discriminated response to prey chemicals. The sites of their lesions will be the terminations of mitral cell axons from the olfactory bulbs and their further projections in the central nervous system.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DC003735-04
Application #
6489554
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZMH1-NRB-R (03))
Program Officer
Davis, Barry
Project Start
1999-01-01
Project End
2003-12-31
Budget Start
2002-01-01
Budget End
2002-12-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$130,610
Indirect Cost
Name
Suny Downstate Medical Center
Department
Anatomy/Cell Biology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
068552207
City
Brooklyn
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
11203
Huang, Guang-Zhe; Zhang, Jing-Ji; Wang, Dalton et al. (2006) Female snake sex pheromone induces membrane responses in vomeronasal sensory neurons of male snakes. Chem Senses 31:521-9
Martinez-Marcos, Alino; Ubeda-Banon, Isabel; Lanuza, Enrique et al. (2005) Chemoarchitecture and afferent connections of the ""olfactostriatum"": a specialized vomeronasal structure within the basal ganglia of snakes. J Chem Neuroanat 29:49-69
Martinez-Marcos, Alino; Ubeda-Banon, Isabel; Lanuza, Enrique et al. (2005) Efferent connections of the ""olfactostriatum"": a specialized vomeronasal structure within the basal ganglia of snakes. J Chem Neuroanat 29:217-26
Martinez-Marcos, Alino; Ubeda-Banon, Isabel; Lanuza, Enrique et al. (2005) The ""olfactostriatum"" of snakes: a basal ganglia vomeronasal structure in tetrapods. Brain Res Bull 66:337-40
Zuri, Ido; Halpern, Mimi (2003) Differential effects of lesions of the vomeronasal and olfactory nerves on garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) responses to airborne chemical stimuli. Behav Neurosci 117:169-83
Halpern, Mimi; Martinez-Marcos, Alino (2003) Structure and function of the vomeronasal system: an update. Prog Neurobiol 70:245-318
Wang, D; Chen, P; Martinez-Marcos, A et al. (2002) Immunohistochemical identification of components of the chemoattractant signal transduction pathway in vomeronasal bipolar neurons of garter snakes. Brain Res 952:146-51
Martinez-Marcos, Alino; Lanuza, Enrique; Halpern, Mimi (2002) Neural substrates for processing chemosensory information in snakes. Brain Res Bull 57:543-6
Martinez-Marcos, A; Ubeda-Banon, I; Halpern, M (2001) Neural substrates for tongue-flicking behavior in snakes. J Comp Neurol 432:75-87
Martinez-Marcos, A; Lanuza, E; Halpern, M (1999) Organization of the ophidian amygdala: chemosensory pathways to the hypothalamus. J Comp Neurol 412:51-68