Monell Chemical Senses Center View Institution's Website 9 articles published in JoVE Medicine Psychophysical Tracking Method to Assess Taste Detection Thresholds in Children, Adolescents, and Adults: The Taste Detection Threshold (TDT) Test Paule V. Joseph1, Julie A. Mennella2, Beverly J. Cowart2, M. Yanina Pepino3 1National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism, 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Psychophysical tools measure the functionality of the taste system for both research and health assessment purposes. This paper describes a method to measure taste detection thresholds that can determine the lowest concentration of sucrose, sodium chloride, or monosodium glutamate that can be tasted by individuals as young as 6 years. Neuroscience A Rapid Food-Preference Assay in Drosophila John O. Mack1, Yali V. Zhang1,2 1Monell Chemical Senses Center, 2Department of Physiology, The Diabetes Research Center, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine We present a protocol for a two-choice feeding assay for flies. This feeding assay is fast and easy to run and is suitable not only for small-scale laboratory research, but also for high-throughput behavioral screens in flies. Immunology and Infection Effects of Taste Signaling Protein Abolishment on Gut Inflammation in an Inflammatory Bowel Disease Mouse Model Ya-Wen Du*1, Qun Liu*1, Xiao-Cui Luo1, Dong-Xiao Zhao1, Jian-Bo Xue1, Pu Feng2, Robert F. Margolskee2, Hong Wang2, Liquan Huang1,2 1College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, 2Monell Chemical Senses Center Here we present a protocol to investigate the effect of the nullification of gustation-related genes on immune responses in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) mouse model. Medicine Taste Exam: A Brief and Validated Test Jennifer E. Douglas1,2, Corrine J. Mansfield2, Charles J. Arayata2, Beverly J. Cowart2, Lauren R. Colquitt2, Ivy W. Maina1,2, Mariel T. Blasetti3, Noam A. Cohen3, Danielle R. Reed2 1Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Rhinology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania This protocol measures human taste responses and includes a brief anatomical assessment, a short taste test, and a validation method using the subject's reported sensation and taste receptor genotype. Behavior Psychophysical Tracking Method to Measure Taste Preferences in Children and Adults Julie A. Mennella1, Nuala K. Bobowski1 1Monell Chemical Senses Center Sweet taste has powerful hedonic appeal among people of all ages, particularly children. Described herein is a reliable and valid method that can be used to determine the level of sweetness most preferred, making it a valuable psychophysical tool for scientists. Neuroscience High-throughput Analysis of Mammalian Olfactory Receptors: Measurement of Receptor Activation via Luciferase Activity Casey Trimmer1, Lindsey L. Snyder1, Joel D. Mainland1 1Monell Chemical Senses Center Olfactory receptor activation patterns encode odor identity, but the lack of published data identifying odorant ligands for mammalian olfactory receptors hinders the development of a comprehensive model of odor coding. This protocol describes a method to facilitate high-throughput identification of olfactory receptor ligands and quantification of receptor activation. Neuroscience Isolation and Culture of Human Fungiform Taste Papillae Cells Hakan Ozdener1, Andrew I. Spielman2, Nancy E. Rawson3 1Monell Chemical Senses Center, 2New York University College of Dentistry, 3AFB International We aimed to develop a reproducible protocol for isolating and maintaining long-term cultures of human fungiform taste papillae cells. Cells from human fungiform papillae obtained by biopsy were successfully maintained in culture for more than eight passages (12 months) without loss of viability. Neuroscience Odorant-induced Responses Recorded from Olfactory Receptor Neurons using the Suction Pipette Technique Samsudeen Ponissery Saidu*1, Michele Dibattista*1, Hugh R. Matthews2, Johannes Reisert1 1Monell Chemical Senses Center, 2Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience, Physiological Laboratory, University of Cambridge Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) convert odor signals first into a receptor current that in turn triggers action potentials that are conveyed to second order neurons in the olfactory bulb. Here we describe the suction pipette technique to record simultaneously the odorant-induced receptor current and action potentials from mouse ORNs. Medicine Technique to Collect Fungiform (Taste) Papillae from Human Tongue Andrew I. Spielman*1, M. Yanina Pepino2, Roy Feldman3,4,5, Joseph G. Brand*4,6 1Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, College of Dentistry, New York University, 2Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, 3Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4School of Dental Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, University of Pennsylvania-School of Medicine, 5Monell Chemical Senses Center, 6Monell Chemical Senses Center Knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying gustatory transduction has recently enjoyed significant advances, largely due to using animal models. However, the wide diversity in taste sensitivity and specificity among mammals warrants studies in human tissue. We describe a biopsy technique to collect living taste cells from the papillae on human tongue.