Spatial distribution of [14C]2-deoxyglucose uptake in the glomerular layer of the rat olfactory bulb following early odor preference learning

Previous work has shown that odors induce focal uptake of [14C]2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) within the glomerular layer of the main olfactory bulb and that the amount of 2-DG accumulated in these foci increases after early odor learning. To determine if learning-associated changes in 2-DG uptake occur across the entire glomerular layer, we have mapped uptake throughout the layer at fixed angles in coronal sections through the bulb. Resulting arrays for individual bulbs were corrected for differing bulb size and averaged across experimental groups to address the spatial distribution of uptake. The average arrays revealed at least three discrete fields of uptake in naive, peppermint-exposed rats at postnatal day 19 that were not seen in air-exposed littermates. In agreement with previous studies, early preference training with peppermint odor given on postnatal days 1-18 increased 2-DG uptake at postnatal day 19 within odor-dependent patches of uptake in the posterior half of the midlateral bulb, whereas odor-dependent, ventrolateral patches of uptake did not increase to the same extent. In addition, early preference learning was associated with significantly increased 2-DG uptake average over the entire analyzed glomerular layer. These increases were smaller than those within odor-dependent foci and were distributed widely across the glomerular layer, showing low overlap between trained and control rats in anterior regions where peppermint odor did not stimulate 2-DG uptake. The widely distributed increases in 2-DG uptake after learning may reflect changed activity of centrifugal projections that diffusely innervate the glomerular layer.