The Smell and Taste Center
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Research Programs
The Smell and Taste Center receives funding from the National Institutes of
Health and other sources for its strong research programs that focus on
understanding the chemical senses in health and disease. Many of these
programs are interdisciplinary and represent collaborations with
numerous departments within the School of Medicine, including the
Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Radiology, and Psychiatry. A
description of a number of the Center’s primary research program areas that
receive NIH funding are described below:
"Postmenopausal Estrogen Influences on Olfaction"
Principal Investigator: Richard L. Doty, Ph.D.
Agency: National Institute on Aging.
Type: RO1 (AG17496)
Period:
January 1, 2000 - December 31, 2006.
The primary goal of this work is to assess retrospectively the association between ERT and both
olfactory and cognitive changes. Since olfactory loss is among the first,
if not the first, sign of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and estrogen mitigates
some symptoms of AD, does estrogen prevent olfactory loss in the
menopause? This study will answer this basic question.
"Olfaction in Epilepsy"
Principal Investigator: Richard L. Doty, Ph.D.
Agency: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
Type: RO1 DC04278.
Period:
December 1, 1999 - November 30, 2005.
The primary olfactory cortex is compromised in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and by surgical treatments for intractable forms of this disease (e.g., temporal lobe resection or TLR). Although a number of studies have examined olfactory function in both TLE and TLR patients, the results are far from conclusive. In the case of threshold measures, for example, some studies report that TLE decreases sensitivity, others report that TLE increases sensitivity, and still others find no influences of TLE on sensitivity at all. The same is true for TLR. Unfortunately, olfactory tests of unknown or questionable reliability have typically been employed, bilateral testing has been the rule rather than the exception (bilateral test scores reflect the better functioning side of the nose), too few subjects have been evaluated, and the amount or location of brain tissue damaged by TLE has not been quantified. Furthermore, with only one exception, pre-/post TLR designs have not been employed. Thus, very basic questions regarding the influence of TLE and TLR on the ability to smell remain unanswered. For example, are some olfactory abilities (e.g., detection sensitivity), but not others (e.g., odor identification), largely insensitive to central temporal lobe lesions? Is olfactory function altered bilaterally or only on the side of the epileptic foci? To what degree is TLE-related olfactory loss, if present, further attenuated by TLR? Are psychophysical olfactory losses mirrored by changes in EEG activity induced by odorous stimuli? The proposed research will provide definitive answers to these and other basic questions.
"Olfactory Event Related Potentials and Frontal Limbic Pathology in Schizophrenia"
Principal Investigator: Bruce Turetsky, M.D.
Agency: National Institute of Mental Health.
Type: RO1 MH 59852.
Period:
January 1, 2000 – November 30, 2005.
The primary goal of this study is to assess electrophysiological and imaging changes in response to odorants in
patients with schizophrenia.
"Olfactory Function in Schizophrenia: A Lifespan Analysis"
Principal Investigator: Paul Moberg, Ph.D.
Agency: National Institute of Mental Health.
Type: RO1 MH 63381.
Period: December 7, 2001 - November 30, 2006.
The primary goal of this project is to assess olfactory functions
over the lifespan in patients suffering from schizophrenia using a
comprehensive psychophysical battery. To detail the potential chronic and
acute effects of neuroleptic medication on olfactory function, total
neuroleptic burden will be assessed across decade bands as well as in
neuroleptic-naïve and previously-medicated patients in a pre-post design.
"Function of Taurine in the Primary Olfactory Pathway"
Principal Investigator: Igor L. Kratskin, M.D., Ph.D.
Agency: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
Type: RO1 DC 04083-03
Period: 04/01/99 - 03/31/04.
This study investigates the function of the neuroactive amino acid taurine in the olfactory epithelium. Data from this
study have demonstrated that (a) specific mRNA for the taurine-synthesizing
enzyme is highly expressed in the nasal mucosa of rats, and (b) among cells
that constitute the nasal mucosa, only olfactory receptor neurons contain
taurine. Two peptides, representing fragments of taurine-synthesizing
enzyme, were designed during this period and synthesized. Antibodies to
these peptides are used to localize the sites of taurine production at the
cellular level and to examine expression of the taurine-synthesizing enzyme
under some experimental conditions. This treatment is expected to inhibit
translation of the enzyme from specific mRNA and produce taurine deficiency
in the olfactory epithelium. Various experimental approaches will be
employed to evaluate olfactory function in taurine deficient rats,
including behavioral olfactory testing using sophisticated operant
conditioning procedures.
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