Figure 4. Olfactory behavior deficits in Zicam-treated mice.

(a) Olfactory habituation assay 7–10 days following saline or Zicam intranasal treatment. The comparison of the ratio of the number of times the mouse sniffed an odorant-soaked cotton swab to the number of times it sniffed a water-soaked cotton swab on initial exposure is an indication of the ability of the animal to detect a specific substance. Cotton swabs were laced with 50 µl of citralva (10 µm), heptanone (50 µm) or mouse male urine (50-fold dilution). Significant differences are noted for the ability of Zicam-treated (n = 8) and saline-treated mice (n = 8) to detect citralva (p<0.05), heptanone (p<0.01) and male urine (p<0.05). (b) Olfactory habituation assay 70–80 days following saline or Zicam intranasal treatment. Again, significant differences are observed for the ability of Zicam-treated (n = 8) and saline-treated mice (n = 8) to detect citralva (p<0.0005), heptanone (p<0.005) and male urine (p<0.0005).