Research on the
Physiology of Bird Olfaction
One of my past research
efforts focused on the physiological properties of human olfactory receptor
neurons (see references below). Specifically, I looked at the cellular
signaling processes involved individual olfactory neurons’ response to
odorants stimulation. I adopted these techniques for the study of
olfaction in birds.
Birds represent a unique model for study because they represent a unique group,
evolutionarily related to reptiles but physiologically similar to mammals
(endothermic). Their olfactory system appears simple, with a single
coiled turbinate. Although olfaction in birds is generally thought to be
of minor importance, many behavioral studies have demonstrated the importance
of olfaction in bird feeding and social behavior.
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Pseudocolor image of an olfactory receptor neuron loaded with the fluorescent dye fura-2. Left panels, pseudocolored images of an olfactory neuron at 340 and 360 nm excitation. Right top panel shows a pseudocolor representation of the ratio between the pixel intensities of the 340 and 360 image, multiplied by a calibration factor to obtain the calcium concentration. Red represents high calcium, and blue represents low calcium. Right bottom panel shows a photomicrograph of the cell. |
I currently use calcium
imaging techniques to measure changes in intracellular calcium in single cells
because olfactory neurons respond to odorants with changes in intracellular
calcium. In addition, this technique is relatively non-invasive (to the
cells) and can be used to measure from a large number of cells from one
specimen.
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