Molecular vibration-sensing component in human olfaction.
Whether olfaction recognizes odorants by their shape, their molecular vibrations, or both remains an open and controversial question. A convenient way to address it is to test for odor character differences between deuterated and undeuterated odorant isotopomers, since these have identical ground-state conformations but different vibrational modes. In a previous paper (Franco et al. (2011) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:9, 3797-802) we showed that fruit flies can recognize the presence of deuterium in odorants by a vibrational mechanism. Here we address the question of whether humans too can distinguish deuterated and undeuterated odorants. A previous report (Keller and Vosshall (2004) Nat Neurosci 7:4, 337-8) indicated that naive subjects are incapable of distinguishing acetophenone and d-8 acetophenone. Here we confirm and extend those results to trained subjects and gas-chromatography [GC]-pure odorants. However, we also show that subjects easily distinguish deuterated and undeuterated musk odorants purified to GC-pure standard. These results are consistent with a vibrational component in human olfaction.
Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Simon
S
Gane
Dimitris
D
Georganakis
Klio
K
Maniati
Manolis
M
Vamvakias
Nikitas
N
Ragoussis
Efthimios M C
EM
Skoulakis
Luca
L
Turin
D000098:Acetophenones; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D006801:Humans; D009812:Odorants; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D014732:Vibration
D000098:Acetophenones; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; C008563:musk; C038699:acetophenone