Receptor generalist

By means of intracellular recording and staining methods, we have examined the responses of AL neurons to stimulation of the ipsilateral antenna with each of the sex pheromone components as well as partial and complete blends (75). In accordance with results of behavioral and sensory-receptor studies, components A and B are the most effective and potent sex pheromone components for eliciting physiological responses in the male-specific AL neurons. On the basis of these responses, we classified the neurons into two broad categories pheromone generalists and pheromone specialists (76). Pheromone generalists are neurons that respond similarly to stimulation of either the component A input channel or the component B input channel and do not respond differently when the complete, natural pheromone blend is presented to the antenna. In contrast, pheromone specialists are neurons that can discriminate between antennal stimulation with component A and stimulation with component B. There are several types of pheromone specialists. Some... 

Structure-activity relationships 5.3.1 Receptor cells generalists and specialists... 

The fact that the amount of redundancy seems to be about the same as for musk is Interesting in view of the possibility that one sensation Is being received through specialist and the other through generalist receptors (7 ). 

Evidently, again, there is evidence of a necessary-but-not-sufficient correlation, but the case is, perhaps, different from that of musk. The odor of musk is distinct even when blended with or accompanied by other notes" such as amber or jasmin. The bitter almond odor is more easily submerged and "lost" in a complex blend of odors so that the only way to Isolate it clearly is to fatigue the nose with respect to one part of the pattern and then "look for" the residual parts. In this way, the "community of odor property" in two sensations can be estimated in most of the sensations received via the generalist receptors ( ). 

Many odor theories have been proposed in the past, attempting to explain the multitude of often very complex phenomena observed in human olfaction. Most of them were only partially, if at sill, successful. Nevertheless, slowly a consensus developed and today it is generally assumed that the primary process of chemorecep-tion takes place at the cell membrane of a sensory neuron and involves physical contact of the stimulant with potentieil or actual receptor sites which could be either specialists - reacting only with one structural class - or generalists which would react with a multitude of structural classes. 

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