In the study, scientists worked with mice to investigate the effects of early life stress (ELS) on olfactory perception. They found that mice exposed to such stress had difficulty learning and remembering different smells, a capability crucial for survival in both mice and humans, as compared to mice with more typical upbringings.
IISER scientist Nixon M Abraham told TOI, “Early life stress encompasses challenging experiences during one’s formative years. Researchers have long suspected that such stress might leave a lasting impact on various aspects of health and cognition, and now, the olfactory sense is added to that list.”
To understand the biological basis of this phenomenon, researchers zeroed in on a specific group of brain cells known as SOM-INs. These cells play a key role in inhibiting other brain cells, a process critical for processing sensory information.
“In mice subjected to early life stress, SOM-INs did not function as effectively as they did in their stress-free counterparts. This malfunction appeared to be at the heart of the olfactory learning difficulties experienced by the ELS mice,” Dr Abraham said.
By finding ways to make these brain cells work more efficiently in mice put through early life stress, researchers managed to improve their ability to learn and remember smells. This breakthrough offers hope for potential interventions in humans who have experienced early life stress-related olfactory issues, he said.
What makes this discovery especially relevant is its potential application to humans. “Olfactory problems are not uncommon among people who have experienced depression, stress or childhood maltreatment. Understanding how childhood stress affects our sense of smell could pave the way for better treatments and strategies to address these issues in human populations,” he said.
The study was published recently in international journal by Nature, called Molecular Psychiatry.
window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; var TimesApps = window.TimesApps; TimesApps.toiPlusEvents = function(config) { var isConfigAvailable = "toiplus_site_settings" in f && "isFBCampaignActive" in f.toiplus_site_settings && "isGoogleCampaignActive" in f.toiplus_site_settings; var isPrimeUser = window.isPrime; if (isConfigAvailable && !isPrimeUser) { loadGtagEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isGoogleCampaignActive); loadFBEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isFBCampaignActive); } else { var JarvisUrl=" window.getFromClient(JarvisUrl, function(config){ if (config) { loadGtagEvents(config?.isGoogleCampaignActive); loadFBEvents(config?.isFBCampaignActive); } }) } }; })( window, document, 'script', );