Olfactory function in the human fetus: Evidence from selective neonatal responsiveness to the odor of amniotic fluid.

Schaal, Benoı̂st; Marlier, Luc; Soussignan, Robert

doi:10.1037/0735-7044.112.6.1438

Cited by 221 publications

(125 citation statements)

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“…As originally demonstrated by Schaal et al (50), newborns detect the amniotic fluid odor and remain attracted to it for at least 2 days after delivery. In a follow-up study these authors demonstrated that 3-day-old newborns preferentially orient to the odor of the biological mother, showing clear familiarization effects of the prenatal experience (31,51,52). A few hours after birth, human neonates show orienting head movements, attachment, and suckling behaviors when exposed to the maternal breast scented with amniotic fluid that was collected during labor (45).…”

Section: Human Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fetal Learning About Ethanol and Later Ethanol Responsiveness: Evidence Against “Safe” Amounts of Prenatal Exposure

Abate

Pueta

Spear

et al. 2008

Exp Biol Med (Maywood)

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Near-term fetuses of different mammalian species, including humans, exhibit functional sensory and learning capabilities. The neurobiological literature indicates that the unborn organism processes sensory stimuli present in the amniotic fluid, retains this information for considerable amounts of time, and is also capable of associating such stimuli with biologically relevant events. This research has stimulated studies aimed at the analysis of fetal and neonatal learning about ethanol, a topic that constitutes the core of the present review. Ethanol has characteristic sensory (olfactory, taste, and trigeminal) attributes and can exert pharmacologic reinforcing effects. The studies under examination support the hypothesis that low to moderate levels of maternal ethanol intoxication during late pregnancy set the opportunity for fetal learning about ethanol. These levels of prenatal ethanol exposure do not generate evident morphologic or neurobehavioral alterations in the offspring, but they exert a significant impact upon later ethanol-seeking and intake behaviors. Supported by preclinical and clinical findings, this review contributes to strengthening the case for the ability of prenatal ethanol exposure to have effects on the postnatal organism. Keywords ethanol; fetal learning; associative conditioningThis review analyzes the impact of low to moderate prenatal levels of exposure to ethanol on later responding to ethanol and stimuli associated with ethanol. These levels of ethanol exposure might be viewed as "safe" but nevertheless have negative effects that might not be noticed for many years.We previously reviewed the literature, examining possible associations between early ontogenetic experiences with alcohol and subsequent affinity for ethanol ingestion and sensitivity to its reinforcing effects (postabsorptive consequences that increase behaviors aimed at obtaining ethanol or that generate preferences to stimuli signaling such consequences) (1). This review took into account fetal and infantile experiences involving acute or chronic exposure to ethanol and how they exerted significant effects upon subsequent ethanol 1To whom correspondence should be addressed at Instituto Ferreyra,

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Section: Human Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fetal Learning About Ethanol and Later Ethanol Responsiveness: Evidence Against “Safe” Amounts of Prenatal Exposure

Abate

Pueta

Spear

et al. 2008

Exp Biol Med (Maywood)

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“…10 Within days of birth, human infants will orient toward the odor of their own amniotic fluid, which suggests that prenatal sensory experiences can bias the newborn's behaviors and preferences. 11,12 Moreover, the environment from which the newborn came, the amnion, contains compounds derived from flavors of foods eaten by the pregnant mother. 13,14 Such exposure to dietary transmitted flavors (eg, garlic, anise) in amniotic fluid has been shown to influence the newborn's facial, mouthing, and orienting responses to the flavor in the short-term.…”

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confidence: 99%

Prenatal and Postnatal Flavor Learning by Human Infants

2001

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ABSTRACT. Background. Flavors from the mother's diet during pregnancy are transmitted to amniotic fluid and swallowed by the fetus. Consequently, the types of food eaten by women during pregnancy and, hence, the flavor principles of their culture may be experienced by the infants before their first exposure to solid foods. Some of these same flavors will later be experienced by infants in breast milk, a liquid that, like amniotic fluid, comprises flavors that directly reflect the foods, spices, and beverages eaten by the mother. The present study tested the hypothesis that experience with a flavor in amniotic fluid or breast milk modifies the infants' acceptance and enjoyment of similarly flavored foods at weaning.Methods. Pregnant women who planned on breastfeeding their infants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups. The women consumed either 300 mL of carrot juice or water for 4 days per week for 3 consecutive weeks during the last trimester of pregnancy and then again during the first 2 months of lactation. The mothers in 1 group drank carrot juice during pregnancy and water during lactation; mothers in a second group drank water during pregnancy and carrot juice during lactation, whereas those in the control group drank water during both pregnancy and lactation. Approximately 4 weeks after the mothers began complementing their infants' diet with cereal and before the infants had ever been fed foods or juices containing the flavor of carrots, the infants were videotaped as they fed, in counterbalanced order, cereal prepared with water during 1 test session and cereal prepared with carrot juice during another. Immediately after each session, the mothers rated their infants' enjoyment of the food on a 9-point scale.Results. The results demonstrated that the infants who had exposure to the flavor of carrots in either amniotic fluid or breast milk behaved differently in response to that flavor in a food base than did nonexposed control infants. Specifically, previously exposed infants exhibited fewer negative facial expressions while feeding the carrot-flavored cereal compared with the plain cereal, whereas control infants whose mothers drank water during pregnancy and lactation exhibited no such difference. Moreover, those infants who were exposed to carrots prenatally were perceived by their mothers as enjoying the carrot-flavored cereal more compared with the plain cereal. Although these same tendencies were observed for the amount of cereal consumed and the length of the feeds, these findings were not statistically significant. Conclusions.Prenatal and early postnatal exposure to a flavor enhanced the infants' enjoyment of that flavor in solid foods during weaning. These very early flavor experiences may provide the foundation for cultural and ethnic differences in cuisine. Pediatrics 2001;107(6). URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/107/6/ e88; infant nutrition, prenatal, lactation, weaning, flavor, development, preferences.ABBREVIATIONS. CW, carrot juice during pregnancy and water during lactat...

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“…2 Several data have shown that olfaction is functional during prenatal life. [3][4][5][6] At birth, newborns have highly efficient olfactory abilities, allowing them to discriminate the odor of their mother's skin or milk from those of other mothers 7,8 and to modify their feeding behavior according to the milk flavor. 9,10 In mice, olfaction is crucial at birth to lead the pups to their mother's nipples, and anosmic mice die shortly after birth because they cannot find them.…”

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confidence: 99%

Olfactory Evaluation in Children: Application to the CHARGE Syndrome

Chalouhi¹,

Faulcon

Bihan-Benjamin

et al. 2005

Pediatrics

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ABSTRACT. Objective. To find an efficient tool for testing olfactory function in children and use it to investigate a group of children with CHARGE (coloboma, congenital heart disease, choanal atresia, mental and growth retardation, genital anomalies, and ear malformations and hearing loss) syndrome.Methods. We adapted for children an olfaction test that had just been validated in an adult French population and investigated a control group of 25 healthy children aged 6 to 13 years. We then tested the olfactory capacity of a group of 14 children with CHARGE syndrome, aged 6 to 18 years. A questionnaire was completed with the parents about their children's feeding difficulties and their ability to recognize odors in everyday life. We recorded and scored the histories of feeding behavior anomalies, the visual and auditory status, and current intellectual levels. MRI of the olfactory tracts and bulbs was analyzed for 9 of 14 children.Results. We showed that healthy children have similar olfactory function to that of the adult control group, which was representative of the general population, without any difference for either gender or age. We also showed that all children with CHARGE syndrome had olfactory deficiency. Half of them were anosmic, and the others had olfactory residual function (hyposmic). We found no association between olfactory deficiency and feeding behavior, visual or auditory impairment, or intellectual level. Parental subjective evaluations were accurate for only half of the group. All of the MRIs showed anomalies of the olfactory tracts and bulbs varying from moderate hypoplasia to complete aplasia, without any relation between the radiologic and the functional results.Conclusions. Olfaction can be assessed in children, even the young and disabled. Our results support the proposition that rhinencephalon anomalies should be included as a major criterion for the diagnosis of CHARGE syndrome. ABBREVIATIONS. CHARGE, coloboma, congenital heart disease, choanal atresia, mental and growth retardation, genital anomalies, and ear malformations and hearing loss; PEA, phenylethylalcohol. O lfaction has always been and remains the most neglected sense in studies of child development and behavior, the main reasons being the poor knowledge concerning the role of olfaction in human development and behavior and the lack of available tools for investigating olfaction, in particular in children. Development of the olfactory system begins very early in the human embryo; olfactory bulbs have their definitive structure at day 56. Then, cells of the olfactory placode differentiate to gonadotropic cells and migrate to the hypothalamic region along the terminal nerve (cranial nerve 0), the olfactory nerve (cranial nerve 1), and the vomeronasal nerve. One part of the olfactory system projects to the anterior part of the hypothalamus for odor perception and discrimination; the other projects to the limbic system and the hippocampus for the behavioral impact of olfaction and olfactory emotional memory. 1 The Jacobson vome...

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Olfactory function in the human fetus: Evidence from selective neonatal responsiveness to the odor of amniotic fluid.

Cited by 221 publications

References 55 publications

Fetal Learning About Ethanol and Later Ethanol Responsiveness: Evidence Against “Safe” Amounts of Prenatal Exposure

Fetal Learning About Ethanol and Later Ethanol Responsiveness: Evidence Against “Safe” Amounts of Prenatal Exposure

Prenatal and Postnatal Flavor Learning by Human Infants

Olfactory Evaluation in Children: Application to the CHARGE Syndrome

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