2009 Abstracts - Association for Chemoreception Sciences

#P128 Poster session III: Cortical chemosensory processing/Receptor genomics and molecular biologyNeuroanatomical correlates of olfactory functionJohannes Frasnelli 1, 2 , Johan N Lundstrom 2, 3 , Julie A Boyle 2 ,Jelena Djordjevic 2 , Robert J Zatorre 2 , Marilyn Jones-Gotman 21CHU Ste.-Justine Montreal, QC, Canada, 2 MNI Montreal, QC,Canada, 3 Monell Chemical Senses Center Philadelphia, PA, USAIn recent years, objective whole-brain techniques (voxel-basedmorphometry, VBM) have become available that allowsegmentation of brain structures into grey matter, whitematter and cerebrospinal fluid. In the present study we used themto investigate the correlation between individual grey matterthickness and olfactory function. Forty-four subjects (25 women,19 men) underwent extensive olfactory testing including odoridentification, detection thresholds, intensity discrimination andquality discrimination. The behavioral results and subjects’anatomical MRI scans were analyzed using two MNI in-houseprograms CIVET and Surfstat. A global analysis demonstratedthat general olfactory function was correlated with grey matterthickness in and around the right central sulcus and the rightparacentral lobule. Moreover, a predicted regions analysisdemonstrated a correlation with an area around the right olfactorysulcus. Of the individual olfactory tasks, odor discrimination wascorrelated with cortical thickness of right insula, right precentralgyrus, right superior parietal lobule and right parietal lobule.Odor identification was correlated with cortical thickness in theright superior temporal lobule, with an interaction with subjects’sex in occipital regions and the entorhinal cortex. These resultsindicate that performance on individual olfactory tests is reflectedin brain anatomy.#P129 Poster session III: Cortical chemosensory processing/Receptor genomics and molecular biologyMechanisms of constitutive and ATP-evoked release ofATP from neonatal mouse OE storesSebastien Hayoz, Colleen C HeggDepartement of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Michigan StateUniversity East Lansing, MI, USAATP, an important extracellular signaling molecule, is releasedconstitutively and actively in many cell types. We previouslyshowed the release of ATP from basally-situated ATP stores viapurinergic receptor stimulation and vesicular fusion. Here, wefurther characterized the mechanisms of constitutive and evokedATP release. Using confocal imaging of endogenous ATPfluorescently-tagged by quinacrine, the % ATP release wasmonitored in the absence (control, constitutive) or presence(evoked) of exogenous ATP (50 µM). In control conditions, ATPrelease occurred in the basal, middle and apical OE (34±2, 38±3,32±1 % basal fluorescence (%Fo), respectively). Exogenous ATPsignificantly induced release of endogenous ATP in basal OE(18±1 %Fo; p