Ontogenesis of the functional activity of rat olfactory bulb: autoradiographic study with the 2-deoxyglucose method

An ontogenetic study of the uptake of [14C]2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) within the olfactory bulb was performed on rats of 3 age groups, 1, 9 and 21 days. Animals were exposed either to ethyl acetoacetate (EAA) or to a nest odor. Already in newborns, a glomerular activity characterized by small spots of increased 2-DG uptake, appeared in response to either odor stimulation. An ontogenetic development of this glomerular activity was observed with age: whereas the labeled glomerular foci were scanty in newborns, their number constantly increased with age until weaning; moreover, an increased proportion of foci overlaying 2 or 3 single glomeruli was noted in parallel with the postnatal maturation of the olfactory system. For the 3 age groups, whatever the odor stimulus, the glomerular activity seemed located in 2 main regions of the olfactory bulb, the lateral aspect and the posterior part of the medial aspect of the bulb. In newborns, no clear difference could be brought out between the patterns of glomerular activation related to EAA and to nest odor, respectively. In 9-day-old rats, the spatial patterns of distribution associated with the 2 odors were overlapping, but nevertheless different. These data are correlated with the postnatal maturation of the olfactory system.