U.S.-Italy Cooperative Research: Stimulus-Response Relations in Olfactory Neurons

9312177 Firestein This two-year award will support U.S.-Italy cooperative research between Stuart Firestein of Columbia University, and Anna Menini of the University of Genoa in Italy. They will collaborate on stimulus-response relations in olfactory neurons. Signal transduction systems are often measured by dose-response relationships. This critical quantitative measure is unavailable for olfactory receptors, due largely to the difficulty of accurately delivering a stimulus of known concentration. This project seeks to provide this data by applying a novel means of stimulus delivery, in which a single living cell can be completely immersed in a particular odor solution while its electrical response is monitored. From this data, it will be possible to construct the dose-response relations of individual olfactory cells to a variety of odor stimuli. Both investigators are established and highly regarded, the problem is fundamental to sensory neuroscience, and the collaboration exploits complementary skills with a novel and unique approach. The collaboration has the potential to have a major impact on understanding chemosensory functions. * * *