OT: Humans And Mice Express The Same Olfactory Preferences

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Humans And Mice Express The Same Olfactory Preferences

ScienceDaily (Jan. 22, 2009) —

 

Humans and mice are attracted by the same odors. This has been revealed for

the first time by a team of French researchers in the " Neurosciences

sensorielles, comportement, cognition " Unit (CNRS / Université Lyon 1).

 

Published on January 16, 2009 in the journal Plos One, their work confirms

that olfactory preferences are not solely determined by experience or

culture, but also by the structure of the odorant molecule. It will

undoubtedly enable a clearer understanding of the neuronal mechanisms coding

for olfactory perception. More immediately, it may be possible to predict

human olfactory preferences based on those observed in the mouse.

 

In humans, odors strongly influence numerous compartments of daily living,

such as sexual activity, social relations or food intake. Some are pleasant,

others unpleasant, and induce attraction or repulsion, respectively. This

positive or negative hedonic value of an odor is very markedly affected by

the experience and culture of the individual. For example, if we consider

camembert cheese, its odor attracts many French people but may be repulsive

to an individual from another culture.

 

And what if olfactory preferences involved an innate characteristic? They

would then be dictated by the chemical structure and physical properties (1)

of the odorant molecule. To answer this question, Nathalie Mandairon and

Moustafa Bensafi, CNRS scientists in Anne Didier's team in the

" Neurosciences sensorielles, comportement, cognition " laboratory measured

the olfactory preferences of humans and mice in response to a series of

odors (2). And indeed, although the odor " value " is predetermined by the

structure of the odorant molecule, the latter still needs to contain

information that will induce choice. If this is the case, then humans and

mice faced with the same odor should react in the same way.

 

In mice, the researchers used the time spent by the animal in exploring a

given odor as their index of preference. The human subjects were asked to

reach their decision and attribute a " score " ranging from 1 to 9, from the

most unpleasant to the most pleasant. At the same time, the duration of

sniffing, which tended to be longer when the odor was more pleasant, was

also recorded.

 

The first conclusion was that humans and mice were attracted or repelled by

the same odors. Geraniol, a floral odor, was one that was preferred by both

species. In contrast, guaiacol, which corresponds to a smell of smoke or

burning, was one of the least appreciated. This result demonstrates the

conservation of olfactory preferences between these two mammalian species.

In addition, the scientists confirmed that this hedonic judgment was closely

linked to the structure of the odorant molecule, which thus partly

predetermines our olfactory preferences.

 

No-one had previously suggested so strongly that the neuronal mechanisms

coding for olfactory preference were situated at the initial levels of the

processing of sensory information. Until now, it had been supposed that

anything related to olfactory " judgments " was mainly processed at a high

level within the integrative structures of the brain. These findings thus

raise hopes of a clearer understanding of these mechanisms and how they

function. In the shorter term, they suggest that the behavior of a mouse

might predict human olfactory preferences, which could then open the way to

practical applications; for example, in the agri-food industry.

 

*Notes:*

 

(1) Structure implies a series of physicochemical characteristics that

describe the odorant molecule.

 

(2) As odorants are pure entities, they do not necessarily evoke a food.

 

*Journal reference*:

 

1. Mandairon et al. *Humans and Mice Express Similar Olfactory

Preferences*. *PLoS ONE*, 2009; 4 (1): e4209 DOI:

10.1371/journal.pone.0004209<http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004209>

 

*Adapted from materials provided by CNRS <http://www.cnrs.fr/>, via

AlphaGalileo <http://www.alphagalileo.org/>*.

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CNRS (2009, January 22). Humans And Mice Express The Same Olfactory

Preferences. *ScienceDaily*. Retrieved January 25, 2009, from

http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/01/090121092401.htm

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

That reminds me: Happy Robby Burns Day! It is still the 25th here in the West.

 

The best layed plans

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gang aft agley.