# Stress modulation of olfactory sensation

> **NIH NIH R01** · SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE · 2021 · $634,986

## Abstract

The aims of this proposal will determine mechanisms by which the internal state of
stress alters neural activity. Even the most logical and brilliant can suddenly turn
incoherent when riddled with anxiety. Strikingly, twenty percent of adult Americans suffer
from debilitating stress. The inability to faithfully find stress-responsive neurons
throughout the brain has stalled the field's ability to discover the mechanisms of
precisely how stress impacts neurons to alter behavior. What is needed is a robust
experimental platform for us and others to reliably use as a model to investigate how the
internal state of stress alters neural function and behavior. Our preliminary data indicates
that the state of stress silences subsets of neural activity in easily identified, well defined
subsets of mouse olfactory sensory neurons. Stress silencing of neural activity has a
black and white effect on behavior; if an individual cannot sense an odor cue they do not
appropriately respond to the environment. In itself, this is surprising because it has been
thought that the olfactory system is just a passive sensory collector vacuuming up
environmental cues and passing that information to the brain. Instead, our preliminary
data reveals that olfactory sensory neurons are capable of responding to an individual's
current stress state, and that this response inhibits the sensation of olfactory stimulus. In
order to determine how sensory neuronal activity is inhibited by the state of stress in
both the main and accessory olfactory systems we will 1) elucidate the stress signals
from the adrenal glands that are detected by olfactory sensory neurons, 2) identify the
receptors on the olfactory sensory neurons that detect stress signals, and 3) determine
the molecular mechanisms that enable stress to silence sensory neurons. Completion of
these aims will open up new horizons to study the scope of function of olfaction. More
broadly, this work will provide a molecular solution for us and others to use as a template
for mechanistic study of the action of stress hormones throughout the more complicated
brain. We anticipate that these results will precipitate new understanding of how sensory
systems, the brain, and the body collectively generate behavior.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10055972
- **Project number:** 5R01DC015253-05
- **Recipient organization:** SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** LISA STOWERS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $634,986
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-12-01 → 2021-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10055972

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10055972, Stress modulation of olfactory sensation (5R01DC015253-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10055972. Licensed CC0.

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