Functional development of the olfactory bulb and a unique glomerular complex in the neonatal rat

Abstract

The ['4C]2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) technique was employed to study the ontogeny of functional organization in the olfactory bulbs of rats from birth to 21 days postnatal. These observations were correlated with the histological maturation of the olfactory bulb laminae. In O-day pups (within 12 hr of parturition), foci of increased metabolic activity were elicited in the olfactory bulb by the odor of amyl acetate. The foci, generally poorly defined, were localized over the glomerular layer, which, in histological sections, was poorly differentiated. In suckling pups injected with 2DG, a single focus characteristically was observed in the main olfactory bulb near the medial border of the accessory olfactory bulb. In this region, a well differentiated complex of glomeruli was observed in the histological sections.