T H E R E S E A R C H

For those of you who don't know (or didn't get it when I explained it to you), I'm going to briefly summarize what we're trying to accomplish with these axolotls.

CONCEPTS

Our key anatomical player in this research is the terminal nerve. This nerve is part of the olfactory system and runs from the nasal cavity to the basal forebrain. Scientists originally thought it served a sensory function, but mounting evidence suggests that it's function is modulatory.

Layman's Terms: TERMINAL NERVE IN THE BRAIN ALTERS NOSE ACTIVITY

One thing that the terminal nerve does is release peptides like GnRH (a hormone related to reproduction) and NPY (a peptide related to hunger). These peptides have special receptors in the olfactory epithelium to which they bind, presumably causing differing sensitivity to certain smells.

Layman's Terms: THE NERVE RELEASES SUBSTANCES THAT MAKES THE NOSE MORE OR LESS EXCITED

Since GnRH and NPY are related to reproduction and hunger, respectively, our research goals include linking the physiological state of the animal (i.e. hungry, non-reproductive, etc) to the success of these peptides in modifying the activity of the olfactory epithelium in response to certain smells (e.g. food, other axolotls, etc).

Layman's Terms: THE SUBSTANCES THAT CAUSE CHANGES IN EXCITEMENT MAY WORK BETTER OR WORSE IF THE CRITTER IS HUNGRY OR SATIATED, HORNY OR...NOT


METHODS

We measure activity in the olfactory epithelium using electro-olfactogram (EOG) recordings. To do an EOG, we must first prepare odorants in liquid form, such as food or male axolotl scents. We apply these odorants, along with a peptide or control, to the exposed olfactory epithelium of the axolotls. While we do this, a pipette containing a wire picks up the summed receptor potential of the tissue, which is recorded as a chart every couple of minutes on our computer. Later, we analyze the data. The entire EOG process, from prep to trial to analysis, takes almost a full day.

And that's what I'll be doing...all summer. :D