title: Same same but different. Different trigeminal chemoreceptors share the same central pathway.
abstract: Intranasal trigeminal sensations are important in everyday life of human beings, as they play a governing role in protecting the airways from harm. Trigeminal sensations arise from the binding of a ligand to various sub-types of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels located on mucosal branches of the trigeminal nerve. Which underlying neural networks are involved in the processing of various trigeminal inputs is still unknown. To target this unresolved question fourteen healthy human subjects were investigated by completing three functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning sessions during which three trigeminal substances, activating varying sub-types of chemoreceptors and evoking different sensations in the nose were presented: CO2, menthol and cinnamaldehyde. We identified similar functional networks responding to all stimuli: an olfactory network, a somatosensory network and an integrative network. The processing pathway of all three stimulants was represented by the same functional networks, although CO2 evokes painful but virtually odorless sensations, and the two other stimulants, menthol and cinnamaldehyde are perceived as mostly non painful with a clear olfactory percept. Therefore, our results suggest a common central processing pathway for trigeminal information regardless of the trigeminal chemoreceptor and sensation type.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kollndorfer
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Ksenia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kowalczyk
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche en Neuropsychologie et Cognition, Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Centre de Recherche, Hôpital du Sacre Coeur de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frasnelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hoche
authors.affiliation: Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Ewald
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Unger
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Christian A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krajnik
authors.affiliation: High Field MR Center, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Siegfried
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trattnig
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schöpf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009833:Olfactory Pathways; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D012903:Smell; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult