Effects of double and triple bonds on the spatial representations of odorants in the rat olfactory bulb.

ABSTRACT: Many naturally occurring volatile chemicals that are detected through the sense of smell contain unsaturated (double or triple) carbon-carbon bonds. These bonds can affect odors perceived by humans, yet in a prior study of unsaturated hydrocarbons we found only very minor effects of unsaturated bonds. In the present study, we tested the possibility that unsaturated bonds affect the recognition of oxygen-containing functional groups, because humans perceive odor differences between such molecules. We therefore compared spatial activity patterns across the entire glomerular layer of the rat olfactory bulb evoked by oxygen-containing odorants differing systematically in the presence, position, number, and stereochemistry of unsaturated bonds. We quantified activity patterns by mapping [(14)C]

SUBMITTER: Johnson BA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2219952 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature