Molecular complexity determines the number of olfactory notes and the pleasantness of smells.

One major unresolved problem in olfaction research is to relate the percept to the molecular structure of stimuli. The present study examined this issue and showed for the first time a quantitative structure-odor relationship in which the more structurally complex a monomolecular odorant, the more numerous the olfactory notes it evokes. Low-complexity odorants were also rated as more aversive, reflecting the fact that low molecular complexity may serve as a warning cue for the olfactory system. Taken together, these findings suggest that molecular complexity provides a framework to explain the subjective experience of smells.

Learning-dependent neurogenesis in the olfactory bulb determines long-term olfactory memory.

Inhibitory interneurons of the olfactory bulb are subjected to permanent adult neurogenesis. Their number is modulated by learning, suggesting that they could play a role in plastic changes of the bulbar network associated with olfactory memory. Adult male C57BL/6 mice were trained in an associative olfactory task, and we analyzed long-term retention of the task 5, 30, and 90 d post-training. In parallel, we assessed the fate of these newborn cells, mapped their distribution in the olfactory bulb and measured their functional implication using the immediate early gene Zif268. In a second set of experiments, we pharmacologically modulated glutamatergic transmission and using the same behavioral task assessed the consequences on memory retention and neurogenesis. Finally, by local infusion of an antimitotic drug, we selectively blocked neurogenesis during acquisition of the task and looked at the effects on memory retention. First we demonstrated that retrieval of an associative olfactory task recruits the newborn neurons in odor-specific areas of the olfactory bulb selected to survive during acquisition of the task and that it does this in a manner that depends on the strength of learning. We then demonstrated that acquisition is not dependent on neurogenesis if long-term retention of the task is abolished by blocking neurogenesis. Adult-born neurons are thus involved in changes in the neural representation of an odor; this underlies long-term olfactory memory as the strength of learning is linked to the duration of this memory. Neurogenesis thus plays a crucial role in long-term olfactory memory.

Long-term fate and distribution of newborn cells in the adult mouse olfactory bulb: Influences of olfactory deprivation.

The adult subventricular zone produces neuroblasts that migrate to the main olfactory bulb, where they differentiate into interneurons in the glomerular and granular layers. Using bromodeoxyuridine labeling, the survival of newborn cells was assessed in these two layers of the MOB in control mice and in mice unilaterally deprived from sensory input by naris occlusion. In control main olfactory bulbs, bromodeoxyuridine-positive cell density decreased about 70% between 15 and 180 days post-bromodeoxyuridine administration but earlier in the glomerular layer than in the granular layer. At all time points examined, newborn cell density was higher in the deep granular layer than in the superficial granular layer. Occlusion started at the age of 2 months and lasted for 15, 30, 45, 60 or 180 days. The newborn cell survival was similarly reduced in both layers by occlusion, during a critical period 15 and 45 days post-occlusion. Interestingly, olfactory deprivation decreased bromodeoxyuridine-positive cell density in the deep granular layer only, indicating a greater dependence of cell fate on sensory input in this sub-layer. Neuronal differentiation was assessed in the granular layer and glomerular layer by multiple double-labeling 45 days post-bromodeoxyuridine-injections, the time point at which the proportion of bromodeoxyuridine-positive cells expressing a neuronal marker reached approximately 85% in the granular layer and approximately 50% in the glomerular layer. Naris occlusion did not significantly affect these proportions. Taken together, our results reveal that the survival of newborn cells has a different time course in the glomerular layer and in the granular layer, but is similarly decreased in each layer by olfactory deprivation. In addition, our data suggest a functional heterogeneity of neurogenesis within the granular layer.

Deprivation of sensory inputs to the olfactory bulb up-regulates cell death and proliferation in the subventricular zone of adult mice.

The main olfactory bulb (MOB) is the first relay on the olfactory sensory pathway and the target of the neural progenitor cells generated in the subventricular zone (SVZ) lining the lateral ventricles and which migrate along the rostral extension of the SVZ, also called the rostral migratory stream (RMS). Within the MOB, the neuroblasts differentiate into granular and periglomerular interneurons. A reduction in the number of granule cells during sensory deprivation suggests that neurogenesis may be influenced by afferent activity. Here, we show that unilateral sensory deafferentation of the MOB by axotomy of the olfactory receptor neurons increases apoptotic cell death in the SVZ and along the rostro-caudal extent of the RMS. The vast majority of dying cells in the RMS are migrating neuroblasts as indicated by double Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated biotinylated UTP nick-end labeling/PSA-NCAM labeling. Counting bromodeoxyuridine-labeled cells in animals killed immediately or 4 days after tracer administration showed a bilateral increase in proliferation in the SVZ and RMS which was balanced by cell death on the operated side. These data suggest that olfactory inputs are required for the survival of newborn neural progenitors. The greatest enhancement in proliferation occurred in the extension of the RMS located in the MOB, revealing a population of local precursors mitotically stimulated following axotomy. Together, these findings indicate that olfactory inputs may strongly modulate the balance between neurogenesis and apoptosis in the SVZ and RMS and provide a model for further investigation of the underlying molecular mechanisms of this activity-dependent neuronal plasticity.