The sense of smell has the complicated task of processing qualitatively multidimensionalsensory input conveyed by turbulent odor plumes and paced by the respiratory rhythm. Inaddition, signal processing of olfactory input takes place under drastically different contextualcircumstances. Our symposium will bring together an exciting set of speakers using a variety ofexperimental approaches that will discuss how olfactory system oscillations are generated, howthey entrain activity in non-olfactory brain regions, how distance and direction of an odor sourceis encoded, and how oscillations contribute to multidimensional circuit processing and integratewith contextual circuit modulation.
In this symposium we will cover taste research in bird, cephalopod, fish and fly species drawing a broad picture of taste receptor and circuit evolution across animal phyla. We will highlight the strength of a comparative framework to extract general principles of chemosensory circuit function based on novel genomic, transcriptomic and physiological methods in classical model and non-model species in aquatic and non-aquatic environments.
Symposium theme revolves around the circulation derived sex-steroid hormones and also locally synthetized neurosteroids and their effects on the olfactory system. The idea is to present the current knowledge around the effects of these steroids on the olfactory system development, odor perception, pheromonal responses and social behavior.
The sense of smell is plastic. This plasticity is based on the regenerative capacity of the olfactorymucosa. The regeneration is the basis for recovery after olfactory loss which is especially significant sincethe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In COVID19 the virus attacks the olfactory mucosa and olfactory receptorneurons are destroyed during the process of the disease. During recovery, ORNs are regrown from theglobose basal cells. In addition to these changes at a peripheral level, the volume of the olfactory bulbalso changes in relation to olfactory function. The same has been shown for the primary andsecondary olfactory cortex where also changes in functional responsiveness have been observed. Itappears that the effectiveness of “olfactory training” is based on these effects. Aim of the symposium is to highlight these plastic changes at several levels. To this end a group ofexcellent researchers will present work that touches upon several aspects of plasticity in thechemical senses. In terms of career levels the group is mixed, with a PhD student, four relativelyyoung colleagues in their early career, and one established senior colleagues. Because of the high significance of this topic in terms of recovery from COVID-19 associated olfactoryloss we believe that it is highly attractive to ECRO participants!
The symposium presents new research developments related to the mouse vomeronasal system. The talks will describe new developments related to the entire VNS pathway, from sensory neurons and sensory organ, via the accessory olfactory bulb, all the way to the amygdala and the hypothalamus.