Federica Genovese

Research Associate

Affiliations

Research Associate, Monell Chemical Senses Center

Education

Ph.D., Neuroscience, University of Heidelberg (Heidelberg, Germany)

Laboratory Of

Dr. Johannes Reisert

Research Summary

In the mammalian nose, the trigeminal system detects irritants, and the olfactory system detects odorants. Traditionally, these systems have been considered separate sensory modalities, but a more complex picture has recently emerged. Psychophysical and electrophysiological studies show evidence of interaction between these two chemosensory systems, suggesting that olfactory perception is the result of olfactory-trigeminal integration, rather than an isolated system.

Although most odorants can also activate the trigeminal system, and olfactory sensory neurons can also detect most irritants, the nature of olfactory-trigeminal interaction is still unclear. My work seeks to determine how trigeminal activation influences the olfactory response by analyzing the peripheral mechanisms underlying chemosensation.

Keywords

neuroscience, electrophysiology, olfaction, chemesthesis, neuromodulation

Representative Publications

Genovese F, Reisert J, Kefalov VJ. Sensory Transduction in Photoreceptors and Olfactory Sensory Neurons: Common Features and Distinct Characteristics. Front Cell Neurosci. (2021) Oct 8;15:761416. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2021.761416. PMID: 34690705; PMCID: PMC8531253.

Genovese F, Bauersachs HG, Gräßer I, Kupke J, Magin L, Daiber P, Nakajima J, Möhrlen F, Messlinger K, Frings S. (2017) Possible role of calcitonin gene-related peptide in trigeminal modulation of glomerular microcircuits of the rodent olfactory bulb. Eur J Neurosci. 45(4):587-600. doi: 10.1111/ejn.13490. PMID: 27891688.

Genovese F, Thews M, Möhrlen F, Frings S. (2016) Properties of an optogenetic model for olfactory stimulation. J Physiol. Jul 1;594(13):3501-16. doi: 10.1113/JP271853 PMID: 26857095. PMCID: PMC4929330.

Daiber P, Genovese F, Schriever VA, Hummel T, Möhrlen F, Frings S. (2013) Neuropeptide receptors provide a signalling pathway for trigeminal modulation of olfactory transduction. Eur J Neurosci. 37(4):572-82. doi: 10.1111/ejn.12066. PMID: 23205840.

Federica Genovese

Contact Information

(267) 519-4847
fgenovese@monell.org