title: The Pig Olfactory Brain: A Primer.
abstract: Despite the fact that pigs are reputed to have excellent olfactory abilities, few studies have examined regions of the pig brain involved in the sense of smell. The present study provides an overview of the olfactory bulb, anterior olfactory nucleus, and piriform cortex of adult pigs using several approaches. Nissl, myelin, and Golgi stains were used to produce a general overview of the organization of the regions and confocal microscopy was employed to examine 1) projection neurons, 2) GABAergic local circuit neurons that express somatostatin, parvalbumin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, or calretinin, 3) neuromodulatory fibers (cholinergic and serotonergic), and 4) glia (astrocytes and microglia). The findings revealed that pig olfactory structures are quite large, highly organized and follow the general patterns observed in mammals.
authors.affiliation: Department Psychology, University of Virginia, 102 Gilmer Hall, PO Box 400400, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA and brunjes@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Brunjes
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Virginia, 102 Gilmer Hall, PO Box 400400, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
authors.forename: Sanford
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.affiliation: Department Psychology, University of Virginia, 102 Gilmer Hall, PO Box 400400, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA and.
authors.forename: Stephen K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Osterberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D064032:Calbindin 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D059329:Cholinergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D066194:Olfactory Cortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D010320:Parvalbumins / Q000378:metabolism; D059326:Serotonergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000378:metabolism; D013552:Swine; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D064032:Calbindin 2; D010320:Parvalbumins; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D013004:Somatostatin
keywords: anterior olfactory nucleus; olfactory bulb; olfactory cortex; olfactory peduncle; piriform cortex