Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The trigeminal system is a third chemosensory system next to smell and taste. It allows for the perception of diverse sensations, e.g., the spiciness of hot peppers, the freshness of peppermint or the pungency of wasabi. This sensory system is independent from smell and taste. Although they are anatomically separable, the chemical senses are functionally intertwined: first, chemosensory stimuli usually activate more than one chemosensory system (e.g., menthol activates the trigeminal system and evokes a fresh sensation while it also activates the olfactory system and evokes a minty smell). Next, receptors are located in close vicinity and potentially influence each other. Finally, the chemical senses share processing units in the brain. Therefore, the chemical senses, and specifically, the olfactory and the trigeminal system interact mutually during the perception of odors and flavors. Although we now know a lot about the sense of smell, much less is known about how the trigeminal system works, especially its interaction with the sense of smell. A deeper understanding of this chemosensory system is important for several reasons: (1) the trigeminal system is an important contributor to flavor and smell perception.. To understand these processes a better comprehension of this largely unknown chemosensory system is crucial; (2) it is equally important to comprehend the interaction between the olfactory and the trigeminal systems, to understand how the systems interact during flavor and smell perception; (3) the sense of smell undergoes changes in response to exposure and training. During most conditions of natural smelling, the trigeminal system is activated together with the olfactory system. The trigeminal system itself also responds to repeated exposure and training. Since virtually all odorants also activate the trigeminal system, the trigeminal system's role in plasticity in the olfactory system must be better understood. This application will therefore support my research on basic mechanisms of trigeminal processing and perception and the trigeminal system's interaction with the olfactory system.