2009 Abstracts - Association for Chemoreception Sciences

Previous fMRI studies indicate that these processes engage themedial temporal lobes (MTL) and the frontal lobes. The MTL isthe initial site of neuropathology in AD. Thus, we expected adisruption in communication between MLT and frontal lobes ine4+ individuals. Moreover, we hypothesized that a task thatengages both regions, i.e., odor recognition memory, would beparticularly sensitive to loss of connectivity and thus fordistinguishing between e4+ and e4- persons. Functionalconnectivity methods allow for the investigation of the strength offunctional associations between different brain regions with theunderlying assumption that functional networks underlie specificcognitive processes. The purpose of this study was to investigatedifferences in functional connectivity during odor memoryprocessing between e4+ and e4- individuals. Prior to fMRIscanning, participants were presented with 16 odors. During twoscans, names of odors presented before scanning (targets) or notpresented (foils) were shown. Participants discriminated betweentargets and foils. The results indicate that there were greaterassociations between bilateral frontal lobes and MTL duringcorrect rejection of foils and correct identification of targets fore4+ relative to e4- individuals. These findings suggest thatprocesses that recruit additional neuronal populations (e.g.,compensation, alternative strategies) may facilitate performance inindividuals who are genetically at risk for AD. Differences infunctional connectivity that distinguish between e4+ and e4-individuals may be useful in predicting incipient dementia.#P18 Poster session I: Chemosensory disorders,models and aging/Central chemosensory circuitsOlfactory, but not Gustatory Function, correlates withBMI and Depressive Symptoms in the ElderlySanne Boesveldt 1 , Thomas Hummel 2 , Stacy Tessler Lindau 3 ,Johan N Lundstrom 1,41Monell Chemical Senses Center Philadelphia, PA, USA,2Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Dresden MedicalSchool Dresden, Germany, 3 Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology,University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA, 4 Dept. of Psychology,University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USAThe decline of chemosensory function known to occur withadvancing age has, in turn, been linked to aging-related anorexiaand other associated diseases. Few studies, however, haveinvestigated the interaction between chemosensory function andhealth in the aged population. The National Social Life, Healthand Aging Project explores the interactions between physicalhealth and sensory function using a national probability sampleof community-residing men and women, aged 57-85 years. Weexamined chemosensory function and its relation to body massindex (BMI, kg/m 2 ) and depressive symptoms in this population.Olfactory function was assessed using a five-item odoridentification test. Odor ID was separated into food (peppermint,fish, orange) and non-food (rose, leather) items. Four tasteimpregnatedstrips of filter paper (sweet, sour, bitter, salty) wereemployed to assess gustatory function. Correlation coefficientswere computed to determine the correlation between olfactory orgustatory function and BMI or depressive symptoms (measuredby the CES-D). The prevalence of ageusia was 14.8%. ‘Sour’ wasidentified correctly least often (39.4%). The prevalence offunctional anosmia was 2.7%. Food items were better identifiedthan non-food items (88.2% vs 73.7%, p