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Modified behavioral and olfactory bulb responses to maternal odors in preweanling rats
R M Sullivan1, D A Wilson, R Wong
1Department of Psychobiology, University of California, Irvine 92717.
Insights
Rat pups learn to prefer maternal smells based on their mother's diet. Early exposure to specific odors in the nest shapes pup attraction and neural responses to those scents.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Olfactory Learning
Background:
- Maternal diet influences offspring development and behavior.
- Olfactory cues are critical for early social bonding and recognition in rodents.
- Early life experiences shape sensory processing and behavioral responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how maternal diet affects pup attraction to maternal odors.
- To examine the neural correlates of odor preference in rat pups.
- To determine if early olfactory experiences influence olfactory bulb responses.
Main Methods:
- Rat pups were reared with dams on controlled diets (chow, sucrose, sucrose with peppermint).
- Behavioral assays measured pup attraction to specific odors.
- Neural activity in the olfactory bulb was assessed using [14C]2-DG uptake.
Main Results:
- Pups showed a behavioral preference for odors experienced during early development.
- Enhanced olfactory bulb neural responses were observed for familiar odors.
- Maternal diet significantly altered the olfactory landscape experienced by pups.
Conclusions:
- Rat pups form specific olfactory preferences based on early-life exposure.
- These learned preferences are reflected in both behavior and neural activity.
- Maternal diet is a key factor in shaping olfactory learning and maternal recognition.
Abstract:
Rat pups acquire an attraction for maternal odors, which can vary with maternal diet. In the two experiments reported here, maternal diet was modified and both pup behavioral responses and pup olfactory bulb neural responses [( 14C]2-DG uptake) to maternal odors were examined. In experiment 1, pups were reared from birth to postnatal day 19 with either a dam fed normal rat chow or a dam fed a sucrose-based diet which suppressed her normal maternal odor. In experiment 2, pups were raised from birth to postnatal day 19 with either a dam fed the sucrose-based diet adulterated with peppermint, or the non-scented sucrose-based diet. Pups selectively expressed both a behavioral attraction and an enhanced olfactory bulb neural response to odors that they experienced in the nest.