Abstract
Early olfactory deprivation in rodents is accompanied by an homeostatic regulation of the synaptic connectivity in the olfactory bulb (OB). However, its consequences in the neural sensitivity and discrimination have not been elucidated. We compared the odorant sensitivity and discrimination in early sensory deprived and normal OBs in anesthetized rats. We show that the deprived OB exhibits an increased sensitivity to different odorants when compared to the normal OB. Our results indicate that early olfactory stimulation enhances discriminability of the olfactory stimuli. We found that deprived olfactory bulbs adjusts the overall excitatory and inhibitory mitral cells (MCs) responses to odorants but the receptive fields become wider than in the normal olfactory bulbs. Taken together, these results suggest that an early natural sensory stimulation sharpens the receptor fields resulting in a larger discrimination capability. These results are consistent with previous evidence that a varied experience with odorants modulates the OB's synaptic connections and increases MCs selectivity.
Highlights
Neuronal representations of sensory stimuli are shaped by sensory experience and the modification of these representations may underlie changes in perceptual abilities
We found that 41% of mitral cells (MCs) in the deprived olfactory bulb (OB) respond to odorants compared to 12% of the cells in the normal OB
Our results show that the deprived OB maintains the basal level of activity in the absence of odorant stimulation, in agreement with homeostatic mechanisms that keep the system within a sensitive range to external stimulation
Summary
Neuronal representations of sensory stimuli are shaped by sensory experience and the modification of these representations may underlie changes in perceptual abilities. But partially overlapped, combinations of OB glomeruli. Early olfactory deprivation reduces the number of inhibitory neurons [13,14], adjusts the pattern of inhibitory connectivity [15] and, slows the morphological development of mitral cells [16]. Early olfactory deprivation increases the fraction of MCs activated by an odorant [18,19] and slows the developmental changes in membrane conductance [16]. In agreement with the structural and functional changes, early sensory deprivation modifies odorant discrimination and identification [21] as well as the responsiveness of the MCs to olfactory stimulation [22]. The effects of early olfactory deprivation in odorant discrimination and information storage in the OB, the first processing stage of the olfactory pathway, have not been elucidated
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