Pregnancy changes perception of odours and tastes

The perception and reactions to odours and tastes can change in pregnancy, sometimes dramatically. This is also true for flies. The mechanisms, however, that trigger these changes are not understood in either mammals or insects. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried now succeeded in demonstrating that the concentration of a certain receptor increases in the sensory organs of gravid fruit fly females. As a result, the taste and odour of important nutrients, calle