Electrical stimulation of the salience network through olfactory nerve pathways

In this DFG-funded project, our department, together with the Center for Smell and Taste in Dresden, is investigating the influence of electrical stimulation of the olfactory epithelium on salience network activation. The olfactory nerves of the nose are connected via only two neuronal circuits to the central structures of the salience network - i.e. to the center of our brain in which stimuli are processed as meaningful. One of the central symptoms of depressive disorders is ahedonia - the depressed person is indifferent to their surroundings and does not find them meaningful. By stimulating the olfactory nerve in the nose, we hope to gain almost direct access to the salience network and to be able to change its connectivity. In the long term, this could lead to new neuromodulatory ways of treating depression.

Contact persons: Ilona Croy & Maria Geisler