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Development switch in neural circuitry underlying odor-malaise learning.

Kiseko Shionoya1, Stephanie Moriceau, Lauren Lunday

  • 1Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA.

Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)
|November 15, 2006
PubMed
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Infant rats learn odor aversion using a developing neural circuit, distinct from adult pathways. This study tracks the shift in brain activity during this crucial developmental period.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Infants can learn to avoid odors linked to illness before adult brain regions for this learning are mature.
  • This suggests a different neural pathway is utilized in early development for odor-malaise learning.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To document the developmental transition of the neural circuit for odor-malaise avoidance learning from infancy to adulthood.
  • To investigate how nursing influences this learning process at different developmental stages.

Main Methods:

  • Rats at postnatal days (PN) 7, 12, and 23 were conditioned using odor exposure paired with lithium chloride (LiCl) to induce malaise.
  • A 14C 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) autoradiography technique was used to measure brain activity, specifically in the olfactory bulb and amygdala.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Different conditioning groups were used: paired odor-LiCl, paired odor-LiCl with nursing, LiCl only, and odor-saline control.

    • Main Results:

    • Paired odor-LiCl conditioning successfully induced learned odor aversion in pups at all tested ages (PN7, 12, 23).
    • Nursing alongside odor-LiCl conditioning led to odor preference in younger pups (PN7, 12) but blocked aversion learning in older pups (PN23).
    • 2-DG autoradiography revealed increased olfactory bulb activity in PN7 and PN12 pups exhibiting odor learning, while PN23 pups showed enhanced amygdala activity for odor aversion, unless nursing occurred.

    Conclusions:

    • The neural circuit for learned odor aversion undergoes significant developmental changes from infancy to weaning.
    • Early life learning, like odor-malaise avoidance, may rely on distinct neural circuits that differ from those used by adults.
    • Nursing behavior interacts with and modifies the development of these learning circuits.