INDUCTION OF OLFACTORY RECEPTOR SENSITIVITY IN MICE

Repeated exposure to olfactory ligands (odorants) increased peripheral olfactory sensitivity in mice. For two unrelated ligands, androstenon e and isovaleric acid, induction of olfactory sensitivity was odorant- specific and occurred only in inbred strains that initially had low se nsitivity to the exposure odorant. These data demonstrate stimulus-ind uced plasticity in a sensory receptor cell, suggesting a form of stimu lus-controlled gene expression. Induction with two unrelated odorants implies that olfactory induction is a general phenomenon that may occu r in a large fraction of the human population.