2009 Abstracts - Association for Chemoreception Sciences

#P291 Poster session VI: Chemosensory developmentand Psychophysics IEffects of Video Game Console and Snack Type on SnackConsumption During PlayJonathan Kolks, Tim Wright, Bryan RaudenbushWheeling Jesuit University Wheeling, WV, USAPast research has shown the effects of distraction on food intake.The present study examined the effects of snack type (healthy,unhealthy, and neutral) on snack consumption while playing avariety of video games. Participants wore a device to measure theamount of their movement during the session. For one of theconditions, the participants played the Nintendo Wii’s boxinggame that comes equipped on Wii Sports. The participantswarmed-up for five minutes and continued to play the game forthe duration of the fifteen-minute session. For another condition,the participants played the Xbox version of Rocky Legends onexhibition mode. The participant warmed-up for five minutes andthen continued to play for the duration of the fifteen-minutesession. The third condition was used as a control, and theparticipants sat in an empty room for the duration of fifteenminutes. Before and after the video game play or the controlsession, the participants’ physiological measurements were taken.Three different snack types (healthy, unhealthy, and neutral) wereleft in the room. For each participant 38 grams of pretzels, 160grams of carrots, and 100 grams of M&M’s were presented.Overall activity level was greatest in the Wii condition indicatingsignificantly more calories burned, and participants ate less in thatcondition. Although both the Wii and X-Box conditions showedless snack consumption in general, participants ate more healthysnacks in the Wii condition.#P292 Poster session VI: Chemosensory developmentand Psychophysics IEffects of Peppermint Scent Administration on IncreasingNintendo Wii Guitar Hero PerformanceRyan Hunker, Tim Wright, Kristin McCombs,Laura Bruno, Bryan Raudenbush, Jonathan KolksWheeling Jesuit University Wheeling, WV, USAPrevious research has shown the benefits of peppermint in avariety of situations. The current study used 60 participants tocompare performance, mood, and perceived task load in videogame play. Participants were randomly assigned to either theexperimental (peppermint scent administration) condition orcontrol (no scent) condition. Each participant played 5 songs onGuitar Hero III on the Nintendo Wii game system on 3occasions. Analyses were performed to determine effects ofpeppermint scent administration on learning, attention, mood,and perceived workload using appropriate ANOVA techniques.The results show that participants performed significantly betterin the peppermint scent administration condition and felt theirmental demand and effort throughout the songs were less thanthe control group. These results provide further evidence ofpepperment scent administration to enhance learning andperformance.#P293 Poster session VI: Chemosensory developmentand Psychophysics IDeposition of inhaled particles in the olfactory regionin rat and human nasal cavities during breathingJianbo Jiang, Kai ZhaoMonell Chemical Senses Center Philadelphia, PA, USAInhalation of airborne particles represents another route of masstransport that may directly expose olfactory neurons toaerosolized chemicals: odorants or toxic agents. Furthermore,insoluble nano-particles deposited in the rat olfactory region cantranslocate to the brain via the olfactory nerve. Although therehave been abundant in-vivo, in-vitro experiments and numericalstudy of aerosol deposition in the nasal cavity of laboratoryanimals, there is limited information about the effects ofanatomical difference on the aerosol deposition and to whichextent animal data can be extrapolated to humans. In this study,the deposition of nano to coarse particles (1nm~10um) in humanand rat nasal cavity was numerically investigated and comparedunder steady inspiratory flows ranging from restful breathing tostrong sniffing. The results showed that the deposition rates andpatterns strongly depended on particle size, flow rates and theanatomical differences between the species. With the increase offlow rate, the deposition rate decreases for nano-particles,however increases for coarser particles. In general, the rat nasalcavity has much higher deposition efficiency than human. Atrestful breathing, the deposition rate of nano-particle (3nm) was82%(25%) and 31%(2%) in the rat and human nasal cavities(olfactory region) respectively. For coarse particle (4um), thedeposition rate in rat was 79% and reduced to 6% in human.We further perturbed the nasal valve and olfaction region in ourhuman model and demonstrated more significant impact on thedeposition rate and pattern in the olfactory region than in thewhole nasal cavity. These results warrant the caution whentranslating aerosol deposition data derived from laboratoryanimals to human or to a specific individual.#P294 Poster session VI: Chemosensory developmentand Psychophysics IThe Effects of Orally Administered Capsaicin on Rat Taste BudVolume and Papillae Morphology Throughout DevelopmentKaeli K Samson, Suzanne I SollarsUniversity of Nebraska Omaha Omaha, NE, USAAfter chorda tympani nerve transection, there is a permanent anddrastic reduction in the number of taste buds when rats receivethe surgery as neonates, but not as adults (Sollars, 2005).Additionally, neonatal rats experience a greater decrease in tastebud volumes than adults after lingual nerve transection, howeverafter 50 days, neonates’ taste buds regenerate to their normal size(Gomez & Sollars, 2006). Because capsaicin is known to be aneurotoxin to lingual fibers in fungiform papillae (Nagy, et al.,1982), this chemical was used to determine if orally administeredcapsaicin yields similar effects on the tongue as those observedwith lingual transection. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were given2% of their body weight of either a 15% sucrose solution (SUC)or a capsaicin (.0033 mM) in 15% sucrose solution (CAP) everyday for 36 days. The neonatal group began treatment on postnatalday 5 (P5), while the adult group began treatment on P45.Neonates were administered solutions by hand using a cottontippedapplicator until P12, and then via a pipet until P24. All118 | AChemS Abstracts 2009