Supernumerary formation of olfactory glomeruli induced by chronic odorant exposure: a constructivist expression of neural plasticity.

ABSTRACT: It is accepted that sensory experience instructs the remodelling of neuronal circuits during postnatal development, after their specification has occurred. The story is less clear with regard to the role of experience during the initial formation of neuronal circuits, whether prenatal or postnatal, since this process is now supposed to be primarily influenced by genetic determinants and spontaneous neuronal firing. Here we evaluated this last issue by examining the effect that postnatal chronic exposure to cognate odorants has on the formation of I7 and M72 glomeruli, iterated olfactory circuits that are formed before and after birth, respectively. We took advantage of double knock-in mice whose I7 and M72 primary afferents express green fluorescent protein and β-galactosidase, correspondi

SUBMITTER: Valle-Leija P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3325210 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature