Olfactory Bulb Units: Activity Correlated with Inhalation Cycles and Odor Quality

Single olfactory bulb units were studied in two macrosmatic species of rodents under conditions intended to preserve the cyclical stimulation which normally accompanies nasal breathing. Patterns of unit activity related to the inhalation cycle were observed in all animals, often in the absence of specific stimuli, and could not be explained in simple mechanical terms. Distinctive changes in these patterns occurred in response to certain odors, and were generally independent of changes in the overall firing frequency. These findings indicate that a change in the overall firing frequency of unit discharges is neither a necessary nor sufficient measure of responsiveness to odors in the rodent olfactory bulb, and that stimulus-specific temporal distributions of unit firing may be involved in olfacto-endocrine activities.

[1]  F. A. Beach,et al.  Response of Male Dogs to Urine from Females in Heat , 1949 .

[2]  D. Ilse,et al.  Olfactory marking of territory in two young male loris, Loris tardigradus lydekkerianus, kept in captivity in Poona , 1955 .

[3]  R. Walsh.  Single cell spike activity in the olfactory bulb. , 1956, The American journal of physiology.

[4]  A. S. Parkes,et al.  Olfactory stimuli in mammalian reproduction. , 1961 .

[5]  F. Bronson,et al.  Interaction of Olfactory and Other Environmental Stimuli on Implantation in the Deer Mouse , 1962, Science.

[6]  W. Montagna.  THE SKIN OF LEMURS * , 1962 .

[7]  D. G. Moulton,et al.  ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY OF THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM * , 1964, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[8]  V. J. Wilson,et al.  Precise Localization of Renshaw Cells with a New Marking Technique , 1965, Nature.

[9]  D. R. Lindsay.  The importance of olfactory stimuli in the mating behaviour of the ram , 1965 .

[10]  W. J. Carr,et al.  RESPONSES OF RATS TO SEX ODORS. , 1965, Journal of comparative and physiological psychology.

[11]  G M Shepherd,et al.  Dendrodendritic synaptic pathway for inhibition in the olfactory bulb. , 1966, Experimental neurology.

[12]  E. Keverne,et al.  Pheromones in the Communication of Sexual Status in Primates , 1968, Nature.

[13]  G. Lindzey,et al.  Androgen Control of Territorial Marking in the Mongolian Gerbil , 1968, Science.

[14]  L. Heimer,et al.  Synaptic distribution of centripetal and centrifugal nerve fibres in the olfactory system of the rat. An experimental anatomical study. , 1968, Journal of anatomy.

[15]  F. Bronson,et al.  Estrus-Inducing Pheromone of Male Mice: Transport by Movement of Air , 1968, Science.

[16]  C. W. Bodemer.  Advances in Reproductive Physiology , 1968 .

[17]  H. Scherz.  Presence of Deoxycompounds in Irradiated Carbohydrates , 1968, Nature.

[18]  J. Price.  The origin of the centrifugal fibres to the olfactory bulb. , 1969, Brain research.

[19]  C. Pfaffmann,et al.  Olfactory and hormonal influences on the basal forebrain of the male rat. , 1969, Brain research.

[20]  T. Powell,et al.  An experimental study of the origin and the course of the centrifugal fibres to the olfactory bulb in the rat. , 1970, Journal of anatomy.

[21]  G. Schneider,et al.  Olfactory Bulb Removal Eliminates Mating Behavior in the Male Golden Hamster , 1970, Science.

[22]  J W Hinds,et al.  Reciprocal and serial dendrodendritic synapses in the glomerular layer of the rat olfactory bulb. , 1970, Brain research.

[23]  V. Denenberg,et al.  Olfactory Bulb Removal Eliminates Maternal Behavior in the Mouse , 1971, Science.