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Updated: Jun 11, 2026
10:42
A Lateralized Odor Learning Model in Neonatal Rats for Dissecting Neural Circuitry Underpinning Memory Formation
Published on: August 18, 2014
Continuous neural plasticity in the olfactory intrabulbar circuitry.
Diana M Cummings1, Leonardo Belluscio
1Developmental Neural Plasticity Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-3703, USA.
Summary
The mammalian brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Olfactory System Research
- Sensory Map Development
Background:
- The mammalian brain's olfactory bulb has mirror-symmetric glomerular maps.
- These maps are connected by reciprocal intrabulbar projections in the internal plexiform layer (IPL).
- These projections refine postnatally in an activity-dependent manner.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the recovery capacity of the intrabulbar map after disruption.
- To understand the timeline of intrabulbar projection re-refinement.
- To examine the impact of activity deprivation on olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) and glomeruli.
Main Methods:
- Reversible naris closure in juvenile and adult mice to distort the intrabulbar map.
- Varying survival periods after block removal to assess recovery.
- Examination of P2-expressing OSNs and their glomeruli following activity deprivation.
Main Results:
- Normal olfactory experience drove re-refinement of intrabulbar projections, requiring 9 weeks.
- Naris closure decreased P2-OSN number and glomerular volume, but restoration occurred within 3 weeks.
- Synaptic contacts in the IPL decreased with sensory deprivation and took at least 6 weeks to recover.
Conclusions:
- Glomerular map recovery precedes and likely drives intrabulbar map refinement.
- Internal plexiform layer (IPL) contacts recover gradually, potentially pacing intrabulbar circuit restoration.
- Activity is crucial for the precise organization and recovery of olfactory brain circuits.
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