The role of vasopressin in olfactory processing

嗅球是脊椎动物前脑的一部分，与嗅觉有关，嗅觉是对气味的感知。在这个庞大而复杂的结构中，来自鼻子的嗅觉信号被处理，这种信息处理的结果通过嗅觉通道传递到与行为和记忆有关的大脑区域。这就是为什么当我们闻到某种东西时，它经常会唤起与该物体相关的记忆。我们的工作集中在新发现的神经细胞内的嗅球，释放神经肽加压素。了解后叶加压素的作用很重要，因为后叶加压素在大脑中起作用，影响社会行为，包括社会认可，配对，性行为和攻击。这项建议的目的是了解加压素如何影响行为和记忆的嗅球内的气味感知水平。其他神经细胞释放肽，它们对其他情绪和行为有影响，这引起了广泛的关注，因为肽模拟物可能对特定的行为障碍有治疗价值。

The olfactory bulb is the part of the vertebrate forebrain that is involved in olfaction, the perception of odours. In this large and complex structure, olfactory signals from the nose are processed, and the results of this information processing are conveyed via the olfactory tract to brain areas involved with behavior and memory. That is why when we smell something, it often brings back memories associated with the object. Our work is focused on newly discovered nerve cells within the olfactory bulb that release the neuropeptide vasopressin. It is important to understand the role of vasopressin, because vasopressin acts in the brain to affect social behaviours, including social recognition, pair bonding, sexual behaviour and aggression. The aim of this proposal is to understand how vasopressin affects behaviour and memory within the olfactory bulb at the level of odour perception. Other nerve cells release peptides and they have effects on other emotions and behaviours and this has attracted wide attention because peptide mimetics may be valuable therapeutically for particular behavioural disorders.