1
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Colombel N, Ferreira G, Sullivan RM, Coureaud G. Dynamic developmental changes in neurotransmitters supporting infant attachment learning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 151:105249. [PMID: 37257712 PMCID: PMC10754360 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Infant survival relies on rapid identification, remembering and behavioral responsiveness to caregivers' sensory cues. While neural circuits supporting infant attachment learning have largely remained elusive in children, use of invasive techniques has uncovered some of its features in rodents. During a 10-day sensitive period from birth, newborn rodents associate maternal odors with maternal pleasant or noxious thermo-tactile stimulation, which gives rise to a preference and approach behavior towards these odors, and blockade of avoidance learning. Here we review the neural circuitry supporting this neonatal odor learning, unique compared to adults, focusing specifically on the early roles of neurotransmitters such as glutamate, GABA (Gamma-AminoButyric Acid), serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, in the olfactory bulb, the anterior piriform cortex and amygdala. The review highlights the importance of deepening our knowledge of age-specific infant brain neurotransmitters and behavioral functioning that can be translated to improve the well-being of children during typical development and aid in treatment during atypical development in childhood clinical practice, and the care during rearing of domestic animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Colombel
- Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon 1 Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France
| | - Guillaume Ferreira
- FoodCircus group, NutriNeuro Lab, INRAE 1286, Bordeaux University, Bordeaux, France
| | - Regina M Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, The Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, USA
| | - Gérard Coureaud
- Sensory NeuroEthology Group, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292, Lyon 1 University, Jean-Monnet University, Bron, France.
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2
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Coureaud G, Thomas-Danguin T, Sandoz JC, Wilson DA. Biological constraints on configural odour mixture perception. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274695. [PMID: 35285471 PMCID: PMC8996812 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Animals, including humans, detect odours and use this information to behave efficiently in the environment. Frequently, odours consist of complex mixtures of odorants rather than single odorants, and mixtures are often perceived as configural wholes, i.e. as odour objects (e.g. food, partners). The biological rules governing this 'configural perception' (as opposed to the elemental perception of mixtures through their components) remain weakly understood. Here, we first review examples of configural mixture processing in diverse species involving species-specific biological signals. Then, we present the original hypothesis that at least certain mixtures can be processed configurally across species. Indeed, experiments conducted in human adults, newborn rabbits and, more recently, in rodents and honeybees show that these species process some mixtures in a remarkably similar fashion. Strikingly, a mixture AB (A, ethyl isobutyrate; B, ethyl maltol) induces configural processing in humans, who perceive a mixture odour quality (pineapple) distinct from the component qualities (A, strawberry; B, caramel). The same mixture is weakly configurally processed in rabbit neonates, which perceive a particular odour for the mixture in addition to the component odours. Mice and honeybees also perceive the AB mixture configurally, as they respond differently to the mixture compared with its components. Based on these results and others, including neurophysiological approaches, we propose that certain mixtures are convergently perceived across various species of vertebrates/invertebrates, possibly as a result of a similar anatomical organization of their olfactory systems and the common necessity to simplify the environment's chemical complexity in order to display adaptive behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gérard Coureaud
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Team Sensory Neuroethology (ENES), CNRS/INSERM/UCBL1/UJM, 69500 Lyon, France
| | - Thierry Thomas-Danguin
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, Team Flavor, Food Oral Processing and Perception, INRAE, CNRS, Institut Agro Dijon, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Jean-Christophe Sandoz
- Evolution, Genomes, Behavior and Ecology, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, IRD, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Donald A Wilson
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine and Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, New York, NY 10016, USA
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3
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Duchamp-Viret P, Boyer J, La Villa F, Coureaud G. Brief olfactory learning drives perceptive sensitivity in newborn rabbits: New insights in peripheral processing of odor mixtures and induction. Physiol Behav 2021; 229:113217. [PMID: 33098882 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Perception of the wide, complex and moving odor world requires that the olfactory system engages processing mechanisms ensuring detection, discrimination and environment adaptation, as early as the peripheral stages. Odor items are mainly elicited by odorant mixtures which give rise to either elemental or configural perceptions. Here, we first explored the contribution of the peripheral olfactory system to configural and elemental perception through odorant interactions at the olfactory receptor (OR) level. This was done in newborn rabbits, which offer the opportunity to pair peripheral electrophysiology and well characterized behavioral responses to two binary mixtures, AB and A'B', which differ in their component ratio (A: ethyl isobutyrate, B: ethyl maltol), and that rabbit pups respectively perceived configurally and elementally. Second, we studied the influence on peripheral reactivity of the brief but powerful learning of one mixture component (odorant B), conditioned by association with the mammary pheromone (MP), which allowed us to assess the possible implication of the phenomenon called induction in neonatal odor learning. Induction is a plasticity mechanism expected to alter both the peripheral electrophysiological responses to, and perceptual detection threshold of, the conditioned stimulus. The results reveal that perceptual modes are partly rooted in differential peripheral processes, the AB configurally perceived mixture mirroring odorant antagonist interactions at OR level to a lesser extent than the A'B' elementally perceived mixture. Further, the results highlight that a single and brief MP-induced odor learning episode is sufficient to alter peripheral responses to the conditioned stimulus and mixtures including it, and shifts the conditioned stimulus detection threshold towards lower concentrations. Thus, MP-induced odor learning relies on induction phenomenon in newborn rabbits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Duchamp-Viret
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR 5292 - INSERM U 1028 - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier - Bâtiment 462 - Neurocampus, 95 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, FRANCE.
| | - Jiasmine Boyer
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR 5292 - INSERM U 1028 - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier - Bâtiment 462 - Neurocampus, 95 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, FRANCE
| | - Florian La Villa
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR 5292 - INSERM U 1028 - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier - Bâtiment 462 - Neurocampus, 95 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, FRANCE
| | - Gérard Coureaud
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR 5292 - INSERM U 1028 - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier - Bâtiment 462 - Neurocampus, 95 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, FRANCE.
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4
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Sinding C, Hummel T, Béno N, Prescott J, Bensafi M, Coureaud G, Thomas-Danguin T. Configural memory of a blending aromatic mixture reflected in activation of the left orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus. Behav Brain Res 2021; 402:113088. [PMID: 33358920 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.113088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Revised: 12/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Blending aromatic mixtures components naturally fuse to form a unique odor - a configuration- qualitatively different from each component's odor. Repeated exposure to the components either in the mixture or separately, favors respectively, configural and elemental processings. The neural bases of such processes are still unknown. We examined the brain correlates of the experienced-induced configural processing of a well-known model of binary blending odor mixture, the aromatic pineapple blending (AB, ethyl maltol + ethyl isobutyrate). Before fMRI recording, half of the participants were repeatedly exposed to the mixture (AB, group Gmix), with the other half exposed to its separate components (A and B; Gcomp). During the fMRI recording, all participants were stimulated with the mixture (AB) and the components (A and B). Finally, participants rated the number of odors perceived for each stimulus. Gmix perceived the AB mixture as less complex than did Gcomp. While Gcomp perceived the mixture as more complex than its components, Gmix did not. These results show the presence of experience-induced configural or elemental processing of the AB mixture in each group. Contrasting the brain activity of Gcomp and Gmix, when stimulated with AB, revealed higher activation in the left orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus. This result sheds light on this area's function, commonly found activated in olfactory studies, and closely connected with the lateral orbitofrontal cortex. We discuss the role of this area as a mediator of configural percepts between temporal and orbitofrontal areas involved in configural memory processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Sinding
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, INRAE, CNRS, AgroSup Dijon, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21000, Dijon, France.
| | - T Hummel
- Smell & Taste Clinic, Department of ORL, University of Dresden Medical School, Dresden, Germany
| | - N Béno
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, INRAE, CNRS, AgroSup Dijon, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21000, Dijon, France
| | - J Prescott
- University of Newcastle, School of Psychology, Australia; Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
| | - M Bensafi
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, France
| | - G Coureaud
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, France
| | - T Thomas-Danguin
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, INRAE, CNRS, AgroSup Dijon, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21000, Dijon, France
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5
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Wycke MA, Coureaud G, Thomas-Danguin T, Sandoz JC. Configural perception of a binary olfactory mixture in honey bees, as in humans, rodents and newborn rabbits. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb227611. [PMID: 33046568 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.227611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
How animals perceive and learn complex stimuli, such as mixtures of odorants, is a difficult problem, for which the definition of general rules across the animal kingdom remains elusive. Recent experiments conducted in human and rodent adults as well as newborn rabbits suggested that these species process particular odor mixtures in a similar, configural manner. Thus, the binary mixture of ethyl isobutyrate (EI) and ethyl maltol (EM) induces configural processing in humans, who perceive a mixture odor quality (pineapple) that is distinct from the quality of each component (strawberry and caramel). Similarly, rabbit neonates treat the mixture differently, at least in part, from its components. In the present study, we asked whether the properties of the EI.EM mixture extend to an influential invertebrate model, the honey bee Apis mellifera. We used appetitive conditioning of the proboscis extension response to evaluate how bees perceive the EI.EM mixture. In a first experiment, we measured perceptual similarity between this mixture and its components in a generalization protocol. In a second experiment, we measured the ability of bees to differentiate between the mixture and both of its components in a negative patterning protocol. In each experimental series, the performance of bees with this mixture was compared with that obtained with four other mixtures, chosen from previous work in humans, newborn rabbits and bees. Our results suggest that when having to differentiate mixture and components, bees treat the EI.EM in a robust configural manner, similarly to mammals, suggesting the existence of common perceptual rules across the animal kindgdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Anne Wycke
- Evolution, Genomes, Behavior and Ecology, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, IRD, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Gérard Coureaud
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Equipe Codage et Mémoire Olfactive, CNRS/INSERM/UCBL1, 69500 Bron, France
| | - Thierry Thomas-Danguin
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, AgroSup Dijon, CNRS, INRAE, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Jean-Christophe Sandoz
- Evolution, Genomes, Behavior and Ecology, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, IRD, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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6
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Exploring the Characteristics of an Aroma-Blending Mixture by Investigating the Network of Shared Odors and the Molecular Features of Their Related Odorants. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25133032. [PMID: 32630789 PMCID: PMC7411594 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25133032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The perception of aroma mixtures is based on interactions beginning at the peripheral olfactory system, but the process remains poorly understood. The perception of a mixture of ethyl isobutyrate (Et-iB, strawberry-like odor) and ethyl maltol (Et-M, caramel-like odor) was investigated previously in both human and animal studies. In those studies, the binary mixture of Et-iB and Et-M was found to be configurally processed. In humans, the mixture was judged as more typical of a pineapple odor, similar to allyl hexanoate (Al-H, pineapple-like odor), than the odors of the individual components. To explore the key features of this aroma blend, we developed an in silico approach based on molecules having at least one of the odors—strawberry, caramel or pineapple. A dataset of 293 molecules and their related odors was built. We applied the notion of a “social network” to describe the network of the odors. Additionally, we explored the structural properties of the molecules in this dataset. The network of the odors revealed peculiar links between odors, while the structural study emphasized key characteristics of the molecules. The association between “strawberry” and “caramel” notes, as well as the structural diversity of the “strawberry” molecules, were notable. Such elements would be key to identifying potential odors/odorants to form aroma blends.
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7
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Walker SC, Williams K, Moore DJ. Superior Identification of Component Odors in a Mixture Is Linked to Autistic Traits in Children and Adults. Chem Senses 2020; 45:391-399. [PMID: 32249289 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjaa026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Most familiar odors are complex mixtures of volatile molecules, which the olfactory system automatically synthesizes into a perceptual whole. However, odors are rarely encountered in isolation; thus, the brain must also separate distinct odor objects from complex and variable backgrounds. In vision, autistic traits are associated with superior performance in tasks that require focus on the local features of a perceptual scene. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the same advantage was observed in the analysis of olfactory scenes. To do this, we compared the ability of 1) 40 young adults (aged 16-35) with high (n = 20) and low levels of autistic traits and 2) 20 children (aged 7-11), with (n = 10) and without an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, to identify individual odor objects presented within odor mixtures. First, we used a 4-alternative forced choice task to confirm that both adults and children were able to reliably identify 8 blended fragrances, representing food-related odors, when presented individually. We then used the same forced choice format to test participants' ability to identify the odors when they were combined in either binary or ternary mixtures. Adults with high levels of autistic traits showed superior performance on binary but not ternary mixture trials, whereas children with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis outperformed age-matched neurotypical peers, irrespective of mixture complexity. These findings indicate that the local processing advantages associated with high levels of autistic traits in visual tasks are also apparent in a task requiring analytical processing of odor mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susannah C Walker
- Research Centre for Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | | | - David J Moore
- Research Centre for Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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8
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Wilson DA, Fleming G, Vervoordt SM, Coureaud G. Cortical processing of configurally perceived odor mixtures. Brain Res 2020; 1729:146617. [PMID: 31866364 PMCID: PMC6941848 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.146617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Most odors are not composed of a single volatile chemical species, but rather are mixtures of many different volatile molecules, the perception of which is dependent on the identity and relative concentrations of the components. Changing either the identity or ratio of components can lead to shifts between configural and elemental perception of the mixture. For example, a 30/70 ratio of ethyl isobutyrate (odorant A, a strawberry scent) and ethyl maltol (odorant B, a caramel scent) is perceived as pineapple by humans - a configural percept distinct from the components. In contrast, a 68/32 ratio of the same odorants is perceived elementally, and is identified as the component odors. Here, we examined single-unit responses in the anterior and posterior piriform cortex (aPCX and pPCX) of mice to these A and B mixtures. We first demonstrate that mouse behavior is consistent with a configural/elemental perceptual shift as concentration ratio varies. We then compared responses to the configural mixture to those evoked by the elemental mixture, as well as to the individual components. Hierarchical cluster analyses suggest that in the mouse aPCX, the configural mixture was coded as distinct from both components, while the elemental mixture was coded as similar to the components. In contrast, mixture perception did not predict pPCX ensemble coding. Similar electrophysiological results were also observed in rats. The results suggest similar perceptual characteristics of the AB mixture across species, and a division in the roles of aPCX and pPCX in the coding of configural and elemental odor mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald A Wilson
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA; Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Gloria Fleming
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Samantha M Vervoordt
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Gérard Coureaud
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028/CNRS UMR 5292/Lyon 1 University, Bron, France.
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9
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Coureaud G, Letagneaux C, Thomas‐Danguin T, Romagny S. Developmental changes in elemental and configural perception of odor mixtures in young rabbits. Dev Psychobiol 2019; 62:471-483. [DOI: 10.1002/dev.21929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2019] [Revised: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gérard Coureaud
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (Lyon Neuroscience Research Center) INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292 Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Centre Hospitalier le Vinatier ‐ Bâtiment Neurocampus Bron Cedex France
| | - Chloé Letagneaux
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation AgroSup Dijon, CNRS UMR 6265, INRA 1324 Université Bourgogne Franche‐Comté Dijon France
| | - Thierry Thomas‐Danguin
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation AgroSup Dijon, CNRS UMR 6265, INRA 1324 Université Bourgogne Franche‐Comté Dijon France
| | - Sébastien Romagny
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation AgroSup Dijon, CNRS UMR 6265, INRA 1324 Université Bourgogne Franche‐Comté Dijon France
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10
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Nasal mucus glutathione transferase activity and impact on olfactory perception and neonatal behavior. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3104. [PMID: 30816217 PMCID: PMC6395716 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39495-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
In olfaction, to preserve the sensitivity of the response, the bioavailability of odor molecules is under the control of odorant-metabolizing enzymes (OMEs) expressed in the olfactory neuroepithelium. Although this enzymatic regulation has been shown to be involved in olfactory receptor activation and perceptual responses, it remains widely underestimated in vertebrates. In particular, the possible activity of OMEs in the nasal mucus, i.e. the aqueous layer that lined the nasal epithelium and forms the interface for airborne odorants to reach the olfactory sensory neurons, is poorly known. Here, we used the well-described model of the mammary pheromone (MP) and behavioral response in rabbit neonates to challenge the function of nasal mucus metabolism in an unprecedented way. First, we showed, in the olfactory epithelium, a rapid glutathione transferase activity toward the MP by ex vivo real-time mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) which supported an activity in the closest vicinity of both the odorants and olfactory receptors. Indeed and second, both the presence and activity of glutathione transferases were evidenced in the nasal mucus of neonates using proteomic and HPLC analysis respectively. Finally, we strikingly demonstrated that the deregulation of the MP metabolism by in vivo mucus washing modulates the newborn rabbit behavioral responsiveness to the MP. This is a step forward in the demonstration of the critical function of OMEs especially in the mucus, which is at the nasal front line of interaction with odorants and potentially subjected to physiopathological changes.
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11
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Schneider NY, Datiche F, Coureaud G. Brain anatomy of the 4-day-old European rabbit. J Anat 2018; 232:747-767. [PMID: 29441579 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a widely used model in fundamental, medical and veterinary neurosciences. Besides investigations in adults, rabbit pups are relevant to study perinatal neurodevelopment and early behaviour. To date, the rabbit is also the only species in which a pheromone - the mammary pheromone (MP) - emitted by lactating females and active on neonatal adaptation has been described. The MP is crucial since it contributes directly to nipple localisation and oral seizing in neonates, i.e. to their sucking success. It may also be one of the non-photic cues arising from the mother, which stimulates synchronisation of the circadian system during pre-visual developmental stages. Finally, the MP promotes neonatal odour associative and appetitive conditioning in a remarkably rapid and efficient way. For these different reasons, the rabbit offers a currently unique opportunity to determine pheromonal-induced brain processing supporting adaptation early in life. Therefore, it is of interest to create a reference work of the newborn rabbit pup brain, which may constitute a tool for future multi-disciplinary and multi-approach research in this model, and allow comparisons related to the neuroethological basis of social and feeding behaviour among newborns of various species. Here, in line with existing experimental studies, and based on original observations, we propose a functional anatomical description of brain sections in 4-day-old rabbits with a particular focus on seven brain regions which appear important for neonatal perception of sensory signals emitted by the mother, circadian adaptation to the short and single daily nursing of the mother in the nest, and expression of specific motor actions involved in nipple localisation and milk intake. These brain regions involve olfactory circuits, limbic-related areas important in reward, motivation, learning and memory formation, homeostatic areas engaged in food anticipation, and regions implicated in circadian rhythm and arousal, as well as in motricity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanette Y Schneider
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation (Research Center for Taste and Feeding Behavior), CNRS UMR, 6265, INRA 1324, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - Frédérique Datiche
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation (Research Center for Taste and Feeding Behavior), CNRS UMR, 6265, INRA 1324, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - Gérard Coureaud
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (Lyon Neuroscience Research Center) INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
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12
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Odorant-odorant metabolic interaction, a novel actor in olfactory perception and behavioral responsiveness. Sci Rep 2017; 7:10219. [PMID: 28860551 PMCID: PMC5579276 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10080-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 07/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In the nasal olfactory epithelium, olfactory metabolic enzymes ensure odorant clearance from the olfactory receptor environment. This biotransformation of odorants into deactivated polar metabolites is critical to maintaining peripheral sensitivity and perception. Olfactory stimuli consist of complex mixtures of odorants, so binding interactions likely occur at the enzyme level and may impact odor processing. Here, we used the well-described model of mammary pheromone-induced sucking-related behavior in rabbit neonates. It allowed to demonstrate how the presence of different aldehydic odorants efficiently affects the olfactory metabolism of this pheromone (an aldehyde too: 2-methylbut-2-enal). Indeed, according to in vitro and ex vivo measures, this metabolic interaction enhances the pheromone availability in the epithelium. Furthermore, in vivo presentation of the mammary pheromone at subthreshold concentrations efficiently triggers behavioral responsiveness in neonates when the pheromone is in mixture with a metabolic challenger odorant. These findings reveal that the periphery of the olfactory system is the place of metabolic interaction between odorants that may lead, in the context of odor mixture processing, to pertinent signal detection and corresponding behavioral effect.
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13
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Mammary pheromone-induced odour learning influences sucking behaviour and milk intake in the newborn rabbit. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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14
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Experience shapes our odor perception but depends on the initial perceptual processing of the stimulus. Atten Percept Psychophys 2015; 77:1794-806. [PMID: 25832188 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-015-0883-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The questions of whether configural and elemental perceptions are competitive or exclusive perceptual processes and whether they rely on independent or dependent mechanisms are poorly understood. To examine these questions, we modified perceptual experience through preexposure to mixed or single odors and measured the resulting variation in the levels of configural and elemental perception of target odor mixtures. We used target mixtures that were spontaneously processed in a configural or an elemental manner. The AB binary mixture spontaneously involved the configural perception of a pineapple odor, whereas component A smelled like strawberry and component B smelled like caramel. The CD mixture produced the elemental perceptions of banana (C) and smoky (D) odors. Perceptual experience was manipulated through repeated exposure to either a mixture (AB or CD) or the components (A and B or C and D). The odor typicality rating data recorded after exposure revealed different influences of experience on odor mixtures and single-component perception, depending both on the type of exposure (components or mixture) and the mixture's initial perceptual property (configural or elemental). Although preexposure to A and B decreased the pineapple typicality of the configural AB mixture, preexposure to AB did not modify its odor quality. In contrast, preexposure to the CD elemental mixture induced a quality transfer between the components. These results emphasize the relative plasticity of odor mixture perception, which is prone to experience-induced modulations but depends on the stimulus's initial perceptual properties, suggesting that configural and elemental forms of odor mixture perception rely on rather independent processes.
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Brain processing of a configural vs elemental odor mixture in the newborn rabbit. Brain Struct Funct 2015; 221:2527-39. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-015-1055-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2015] [Accepted: 04/30/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Romagny S, Thomas-Danguin T, Coureaud G. Configural processing of odor mixture: Does the learning of elements prevent the perception of configuration in the newborn rabbit? Physiol Behav 2015; 142:161-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2014] [Revised: 02/04/2015] [Accepted: 02/10/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Newborn rabbit perception of 6-odorant mixtures depends on configural processing and number of familiar elements. PLoS One 2014; 9:e107560. [PMID: 25248149 PMCID: PMC4172776 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2014] [Accepted: 08/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Perception of odors, i.e. usually of mixtures of odorants, is elemental (the odorants' odor qualities are perceived in the mixture) or configural (the odor quality of the mixture differs from the one of each odorant). In human adults, the Red Cordial (RC) mixture is a configurally-processed, 6-odorant mixture. It evokes a red cordial odor quality while none of the elements carries that odor. Interestingly, in newborn rabbits, the same RC mixture is weak configurally perceived: the newborns behaviorally respond to all the elements after conditioning to the whole mixture, but not to the mixture after conditioning to a single element. Thus, they perceive in the RC mixture both the odor quality of the RC configuration and the quality of each element. Here, we aimed to determine whether this perception is modulated by quantitative (number of elements) and/or qualitative bits of information (nature of elements) previously learned by the animals. Newborns were conditioned to RC sub-mixtures of different complexity and composition before behavioral testing to RC. Pups generalized their sucking-related response to RC after learning at least 4 odorants. In contrast, after conditioning to sub-mixtures of another 6-odorant mixture, the elementally perceived MV mixture, pups responded to MV after learning one or two odorants. The different generalization to RC and MV mixtures after learning some of their elements is discussed according to three hypotheses: i) the configural perception of RC sub-mixtures, ii) the ratio of familiar/unfamiliar individual information elementally and configurally perceived, iii) the perception of RC becoming purely elemental. The results allow the first hypothesis to be dismissed, while further experiments are required to distinguish between the remaining two.
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Coureaud G, Thomas-Danguin T, Datiche F, Wilson DA, Ferreira G. Differential memory persistence of odor mixture and components in newborn rabbits: competition between the whole and its parts. Front Behav Neurosci 2014; 8:211. [PMID: 24982622 PMCID: PMC4059275 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2014] [Accepted: 05/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Interacting with the mother during the daily nursing, newborn rabbits experience her body odor cues. In particular, the mammary pheromone (MP) contained in rabbit milk triggers the typical behavior which helps to localize and seize the nipples. It also promotes the very rapid appetitive learning of simple or complex stimuli (odorants or mixtures) through associative conditioning. We previously showed that 24 h after MP-induced conditioning to odorants A (ethyl isobutyrate) or B (ethyl maltol), newborn rabbits perceive the AB mixture in a weak configural way, i.e., they perceive the odor of the AB configuration in addition to the odors of the elements. Moreover, after conditioning to the mixture, elimination of the memories of A and B does not affect the memory of AB, suggesting independent elemental and configural memories of the mixture. Here, we evaluated whether configural memory persistence differs from elemental one. First, whereas 1 or 3-day-old pups conditioned to A or B maintained their responsiveness to the conditioned odorant for 4 days, those conditioned to AB did not respond to the mixture after the same retention period. Second, the pups conditioned to AB still responded to A and B 4 days after conditioning, which indicates stronger retention of the elements than of the configuration when all information are learned together. Third, we determined whether the memory of the elements competes with the memory of the configuration: after conditioning to AB, when the memories of A and B were erased using pharmacological treatment, the memory of the mixture was extended to day 5. Thus, newborn rabbits have access to both elemental and configural information in certain odor mixtures, and competition between these distinct representations of the mixture influences the persistence of their memories. Such effects certainly occur in the natural context of mother-pup interactions and may contribute to early acquisition of knowledge about the surroundings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gérard Coureaud
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation (CSGA), UMR 6265 CNRS, UMR 1324 INRA, Université de Bourgogne Dijon, France
| | - Thierry Thomas-Danguin
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation (CSGA), UMR 6265 CNRS, UMR 1324 INRA, Université de Bourgogne Dijon, France
| | - Frédérique Datiche
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation (CSGA), UMR 6265 CNRS, UMR 1324 INRA, Université de Bourgogne Dijon, France
| | - Donald A Wilson
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine New York, NY, USA
| | - Guillaume Ferreira
- Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology Group, INRA UMR 1286 Bordeaux, France ; Université de Bordeaux Bordeaux, France
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