Expression of c-fos in the main olfactory bulb of neonatal rabbits in response to garlic as a novel and conditioned odour.
Expression of c-Fos was examined in the olfactory bulbs of 3-day-old rabbits after they had been presented with the odour of garlic as a novel stimulus, as a learned odour, or during conditioning, and this expression compared with baseline levels in non-stimulated controls. Exposure to garlic odour resulted in substantial and widespread increases in c-Fos expression in the olfactory bulbs of all animals. However, although conditioned pups showed a specific behavioural response to the learned garlic odour, neither the amount nor pattern of c-Fos expression differed compared to pups exposed to garlic as a novel odour. The odour-induced expression of c-Fos was not well localised, although there was a significant increase in the number of granule cells expressing c-Fos in the ventrolateral region of the bulb. These results support previous reports that the response to odours in the olfactory bulb of new-born animals is not as spatially distinct as that in adults. Nevertheless, the immature olfactory system of these young animals is clearly capable of very specific odour learning.
Allingham
K
K
Institut für Medizinische Psychologie, University of Munich, München, Germany. karl@imp.med.uni-muenchen.de
Brennan
P A
PA
Distel
H
H
Hudson
R
R
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000833:Animals, Suckling; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005737:Garlic / Q000378:metabolism*; D009812:Odorants; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011817:Rabbits; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical
D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos