Function of gonadotropin-releasing hormone in olfaction.

Wirsig‐Wiechmann, Celeste R.

doi:10.2302/kjm.50.81

Cited by 52 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Furthermore, Olfaction during the Menstrual Cycle GnRH modulates TTX-sensitive inward current and Ca 2ϩ -dependent outward current in the olfactory cell [14]. GnRH secretory neurons exist in lamina propria, and olfactory receptor cells seem to have GnRH receptors [15]. Coupled with the result obtained in the present work, it is understandable to think that the endocrine factors affect some points underlying the olfactory signaling pathway.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Human Olfactory Contrast Changes during the Menstrual Cycle.

Watanabe

Umezu²,

Kurahashi³

2002

JJP

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Chemoreception is generally believed to be a very primary sensation, equipped in a wide variety of organisms. In higher animals olfaction is tightly related to mating and feeding behaviors [1]. Therefore it has long been discussed that olfactory sensitivities are strongly dependent on the animal situation: Sensitivity becomes high when the animal seeks foods (see, e.g., Takagi [2]). Also, human olfaction has been thought to be influenced by body and external conditions [3][4][5][6][7][8]. One amusing example is the relation between the olfactory sensitivities and the menstrual cycles of women.Several studies have investigated the olfactory sensitivity during the menstrual cycle, but the experimental results express diverse variations among studies. It was reported that women in ovulatory and premenstrual phases could detect a lower concentration of Exaltolide, and during or just after menstruation the sensitivity became duller [3]. The olfactory sensitivity is higher at ovulation than at menstruation when examined with three involatile esters (pentadecalactone, coumarin, and cinnamyl butylate) [4]. Doty et al. have also confirmed the rhythmic change of the olfactory sensitivity during the menstrual cycle [5]. The detection thresholds of pentalide and androstenol varied during the menstrual cycle [6]. In contrast, conflicting reports suggest that olfactory sensitivity is not rhythmically changed throughout the menstrual cycle. Hummel et al. detected no changes in the olfactory sensitivity during the menstrual cycle when examining it with phenylethyl alcohol, androstenone, and nicotine [7]. Furthermore, it was reported that threshold values against citral were uncorrelated with the menstrual cycle, but olfactory-related events obtained from the brain (CSERP: chemosensory event-related potentials) showed a remarkable change around the ovulatory phase [8].In the present study, we investigated the changes of olfactory perception during the menstrual cycle from a different viewpoint. We carried out this study by focusing on an index termed "olfactory contrast," which has been just very recently derived from physiological experiments on the olfactory receptor cell [9]. Olfactory contrast is defined as a slope of the dose-re- Japanese Journal of Physiology, 52, 353-359, 2002 Key words: sensory system, olfaction, receptor cell, sex pheromone, menstrual cycle. Abstract:Several lines of studies have reported that olfactory perception is influenced by physical and hormonal conditions. In the present study, we investigated changes of olfactory perception during the menstrual cycle of the human. Cyclopentadecanolide vapor was used and its perception intensity was measured by 6-point category scale methods. We especially focused on a novel concept termed "olfactory contrast" that has been just very recently derived from the patch clamp experiment that uses the solitary olfactory receptor cell. The results obtained from 18 trials (15 subjects) showed that olfactory contrast was significantly enhanced at the ovulatory and/or ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Human Olfactory Contrast Changes during the Menstrual Cycle.

Watanabe

Umezu²,

Kurahashi³

2002

JJP

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“…2). Although these VNO-associated neurons appear to connect with the brain early in development, they degenerate shortly after other neurons that contain gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), presumably members of the terminal nerve (Wirsig-Wiechmann, 2001), migrate along these vomeronasal nerves from their origins in the olfactory placode/VNO to their destination in the basal forebrain (Wray, 2002). Within the brain, vomeronasal nerves normally terminate within the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), a structure that is embedded within the main olfactory bulb but has no direct connections with it.…”

Section: Pheromone Receptor: Likelihood Of a Human Vnomentioning

confidence: 99%

Facts, fallacies, fears, and frustrations with human pheromones

2004

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Among primates in general, pheromones are of variable importance to social communication. Data on humans have generated the greatest controversy regarding the existence of pheromonal communication. In this review, the likelihood of pheromonal communication in humans is assessed with a discussion of chemical compounds produced by the axilla that may function as pheromones; the likelihood that the vomeronasal organ (VNO), a putative pheromone receptor organ in many other mammals, is functional in humans; and the possible ways pheromones operate in humans. In the human axilla, the interactions between the cutaneous microflora and axillary secretions render this region analogous to scent glands found in other primates. Both the chemistry of axillary secretions and their effects on conspecifics in humans appear to be analogous to other mammalian pheromone systems. Whichever chemical compounds serve a pheromonal function in humans, another unknown is the receptor. Although the VNO has been implicated in the reception of pheromones in many vertebrates, it is not the only pathway through which such information has access to the central nervous system; there is ample evidence to support the view that the olfactory epithelium can respond to pheromones. Furthermore, if a chemical activates receptors within the VNO, this does not necessarily mean that the compound is a pheromone. An important caveat for humans is that critical components typically found within the functioning VNO of other, nonprimate, mammals are lacking, suggesting that the human VNO does not function in the way that has been described for other mammals. In a broader perspective, pheromones can be classified as primers, signalers, modulators, and releasers. There is good evidence to support the presence of the former three in humans. Examples include affects on the menstrual cycle (primer effects); olfactory recognition of newborn by its mother (signaler); individuals may exude different odors based on mood (suggestive of modulator effects). However, there is no good evidence for releaser effects in adult humans. It is emphasized that no bioassay-guided study has led to the isolation of true human pheromones, a step that will elucidate specific functions to human chemical signals.

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“…Unlike the Schwann cells of other sensory nerves, OECs originate in the placode itself rather than from neural crest, and, like the larvacean rostral bulb cells, they embrace bundles of axons, rather than enveloping axons one at a time (Farbman, 2000). However, the bulb cells are also like vertebrate terminal nerve cells, some of which appear to originate in the olfactory placode (Wirsig-Wiechmann, 2001). Terminal nerve cells exert a neuromodulatory influence on the olfactory neurons; similarly, the larvacean bulb cells exhibit immunoreactivity for GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter (Bollner et al, 1991).…”

Section: The Ventral Organ and The Vertebrate Olfactory Organmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary history of placodes: a molecular genetic investigation of the larvacean urochordate Oikopleura dioica

Bassham

Postlethwait

2005

Development

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The evolutionary origin of vertebrate placodes remains controversial because divergent morphologies in urochordates, cephalochordates and vertebrates make it difficult to recognize organs that are clearly homologous to placode-derived features, including the olfactory organ, adenohypophysis, lens, inner ear, lateral line and cranial ganglia. The larvacean urochordate Oikopleura dioica possesses organs that morphologically resemble the vertebrate olfactory organ and adenohypophysis. We tested the hypothesis that orthologs of these vertebrate placodes exist in a larvacean urochordate by analyzing the developmental expression of larvacean homologs of the placode-marking gene families Eya, Pitx and Six. We conclude that extant chordates inherited olfactory and adenohypophyseal placodes from their last common ancestor, but additional independent proliferation and perhaps loss of placode types probably occurred among the three subphyla of Chordata.

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Function of gonadotropin-releasing hormone in olfaction.

Cited by 52 publications

References 35 publications

Human Olfactory Contrast Changes during the Menstrual Cycle.

Human Olfactory Contrast Changes during the Menstrual Cycle.

Facts, fallacies, fears, and frustrations with human pheromones

The evolutionary history of placodes: a molecular genetic investigation of the larvacean urochordate Oikopleura dioica

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