Contributions of Perireceptor Events to Chemosensory Processes

龙虾触角的嗅觉器官很大， 可用于生物化学和生理学工作，并且可以 很容易被水传播的气味刺激，使其成为一个很好的 研究嗅觉接收的模型系统。 它也是 因为它特别响应几个 这些分子也被认为在 大脑，提供了一个模型，生化受体机制， 中枢神经系统 这个项目解决了一个新的问题， 在受体位点周围的生物化学反应 接受刺激。 这种“外周感受器”机制可以 包括降解酶、细胞对化合物再摄取 改变周围流体中的离子或蛋白质含量 受体，以及角质层在调节 刺激进入受体。 生物化学，生理学， 和解剖学方法将用于分析 感受器周围环境及其对细胞的影响 对嗅觉刺激的反应。 这项多学科研究的结果将是重要的 不仅研究嗅觉和嗅觉行为， 理解哺乳动物大脑中的细胞机制， 在那里已知有类似的化学过程起作用。

The olfactory organ of the lobster antenna is large and accessible for both biochemical and physiological work, and can easily be stimulated by water-borne odorants, making it a good model system for studying olfactory reception. It also is remarkable because it responds specifically to several molecules that also are known to have important actions in the brain, providing a model for biochemical receptor mechanisms in the central nervous system. This project addresses the novel question of how the medium around the receptor sites contributes to the biochemical reception of a stimulus. Such "perireceptor" mechanisms can include degradative enzymes, re-uptake of compounds by cells, modification of ion or protein content in the fluid surrounding the receptor, and the role of the cuticle in regulating stimulus access to the receptor. Biochemical, physiological, and anatomical approaches will be used to analyze the perireceptor environment and its effects on the cellular responses to olfactory stimuli. Results from this multidisciplinary study will be important not only to work on olfaction and olfactory behavior, but also to understanding cellular mechanisms in the mammalian brain, where similar chemical processes are known to function.