Affiliations
Member Emeritus, Monell Chemical Senses Center
Adjunct Professor, Department of Animal Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Education
Ph.D., Psychobiology (Neuroscience); Florida State University
Research Summary
Individuals differ quite substantially in their ability to smell myriad odorants. In some instances a person may not be able to detect an odor when others in the group can clearly perceive it. In other situations all may detect an odor but there is considerable disagreement about what it smells like. At Monell I explored this variation at different levels of analyses, e.g., genetic influences, gender differences and the impacts of age and the environment on odor perception. In another area of research I explored the effects of body odor on the physiology and behavior of individuals who are exposed to the odor. Even among humans there is mounting evidence that we communicate information about ourselves to others via pheromones (chemical communication), often at a subconscious level. This information can be used to identify individuals, to alter hormone systems and to modify mood and emotion.
Keywords
olfaction, vomereonasal, chemical communication, pheromones, intranasal, chemesthesis, psychophysics, behavioral genetics, adaptation/cross-adaptation, behavioral neuroscience, histology
Representative Publications
Yee, K.K.; Craven, B.A.; Wysocki, C.J.; Van Valkenburgh, B. (2016) Comparative morphology and histology of the nasal fossa in four mammals: gray squirrel, bobcat, coyote, and white-tailed deer. The Anatomical Record (Hoboken), 299, 840-52.
Prokop-Prigge, K.; Thaler, E.; Wysocki, C.J.; Preti, G. (2014) Identification of volatile organic compounds in human cerumen. Journal of Chromatography B: Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical and Life Sciences, 953-954, 48-52.
Van Valkenburgh, B.; Pang, B.; Bird, D.; Curtis, A.; Yee, K.; Wysocki, C.J.; Craven, B.A. (2014) Respiratory and olfactory turbinals in Feliform and Caniform carnivorans: The influence of snout length. The Anatomical Record (Hoboken), 297, 2065-79.
Kwak, J.; Gallagher, M.; Ozdener, M.H.; Wysocki, C.J.; Goldsmith, B.R.; Isamah, A.; Faranda, A.; Fakharzadeh, S.S.; Herlyn, M.; Johnson, A.T.C.; Preti, G. (2013) Volatile biomarkers from human melanoma cells. Journal of Chromatography B: Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical and Life Sciences, 931, 90-96.
Knaapila, A.; Hwang, L.D.; Lysenko, A.; Duke, F.F.; Fesi, B.; Khoshnevisan, A.; Wysocki, C.J.; et al. (2012) Genetic analysis of chemosensory traits in human twins. Chemical Senses, 37, 869-881.
Olender, T.; Waszak, S.M.; Viavant, M.; Khen, M.; Ben-Asher, E.; Reyes, A.; Nativ, N.; Wysocki, C.J.; et al. (2012) Personal receptor repertoires: olfaction as a model. BMC Genomics, 13.
