| Budget Amount *help |
¥22,780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥22,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000)
Fiscal Year 2001: ¥3,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000)
Fiscal Year 2000: ¥3,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000)
Fiscal Year 1999: ¥6,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥6,400,000)
Fiscal Year 1998: ¥9,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥9,900,000)
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| Research Abstract |
(1) Molecular mechanisms of olfactory transduction : Single olfactory receptor cells were dissociated by enzymatic treatment of the olfactory epithelium. Solitary cells were subjected for whole-cell version of the patch clamp method. Cells were repeatedly stimulated by odorants dissolved into the Ringer' s solution. The relation between odorant intensity and response showed a very high cooperativity. Furthermore, response induced by the photolysis of cytoplasmic caged cAMP expressed similar coooperativity. This indicates that the non-linear booting system exist at the level-of the ionic channel.
(2) Molecular mechanisms of taste transduction : Single taste receptor cells were dissociated by enzymatic treatment of fungi form papillae and subjected for outside-out version of the patch clamp method. Membrane patches were repeatedly stimulated by quinine dissolved into the Ringer' s solution. Surprisingly, even with plane membranes, we could detect quinine responses. Bitter transduction is likely to be regulated by the direct gating of ionic channel.
(3) Human olfaction changes during the menstrual cycle. The investigation was carried out by focusing on an index termed olfactory contrast which has been just proposed to evaluate the olfactory perceptive ability of the olfactory sensory neurons. We obtained the olfactory contrast from females with psychophysicaI tests. During their menstrual cycles, the olfactory contrast against the musk vapor increased rhythmically. Since these periods are closely related to the pregnancy of females and musk vapor is a typical candidate for the sex pheromones, the result may provide a possibility that the sexual mood of human is partly influenced by the change in the olfactory sensation.
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