title: An arterially perfused nose-olfactory bulb preparation of the rat.
abstract: A main feature of the mammalian olfactory bulb network is the presence of various rhythmic activities, in particular, gamma, beta, and theta oscillations, with the latter coupled to the respiratory rhythm. Interactions between those oscillations as well as the spatial distribution of network activation are likely to determine olfactory coding. Here, we describe a novel semi-intact perfused nose-olfactory bulb-brain stem preparation in rats with both a preserved olfactory epithelium and brain stem, which could be particularly suitable for the study of oscillatory activity and spatial odor mapping within the olfactory bulb, in particular, in hitherto inaccessible locations. In the perfused olfactory bulb, we observed robust spontaneous oscillations, mostly in the theta range. Odor application resulted in an increase in oscillatory power in higher frequency ranges, stimulus-locked local field potentials, and excitation or inhibition of individual bulbar neurons, similar to odor responses reported from in vivo recordings. Thus our method constitutes the first viable in situ preparation of a mammalian system that uses airborne odor stimuli and preserves these characteristic features of odor processing. This preparation will allow the use of highly invasive experimental procedures and the application of techniques such as patch-clamp recording, high-resolution imaging, and optogenetics within the entire olfactory bulb.
authors.affiliation: Systems Neurobiology, Department of Biology II, Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität München, Martinsried, Germany; Neurophysiology, Zoological Institute, Regensburg University, Regensburg, Germany; and Fernando.Perez@biologie.uni-regensburg.de.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pérez de los Cobos Pallarés
authors.affiliation: Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Davor
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stanić
authors.affiliation: Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Farmer
authors.affiliation: Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dutschmann
authors.affiliation: Systems Neurobiology, Department of Biology II, Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität München, Martinsried, Germany; Neurophysiology, Zoological Institute, Regensburg University, Regensburg, Germany; and.
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Egger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory; D009666:Nose / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000502:physiology*; D010477:Perfusion; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012903:Smell; D013826:Theta Rhythm; D014824:Vivisection / Q000379:methods*
keywords: brain stem; neural oscillation; odor coding; olfactory bulb; theta rhythm