Destruction of the Main Olfactory Epithelium Reduces Female Sexual Behavior and Olfactory Investigation in Female Mice

We found a novel sexually dimorphic area (SDA) in the dorsal hypothalamus (DH) of mice. The SDA-DH was sandwiched between 2 known male-biased sexually dimorphic nuclei, the principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the calbindin-sexually dimorphic nucleus, and exhibited a female-biased sex difference in neuronal cell density. The density of neurons in the SDA-DH was increased in male mice by orchidectomy on the day of birth and decreased in female mice by treatment with testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, or estradiol within 5 days after birth. These findings indicate that the SDA-DH is defeminized under the influence of testicular testosterone, which acts via both directly by binding to the androgen receptor, and indirectly by binding to the estrogen receptor after aromatization. We measured the activity of SDA-DH neurons with c-Fos, a neuronal activity marker, in female mice during maternal and sexual behaviors. The number of c-Fos-expressing neurons in the SDA-DH of female mice was negatively correlated with maternal behavior performance. However, the number of c-Fos-expressing neurons did not change during female sexual behavior. These findings suggest that the SDA-DH contains a neuronal cell population, the activity of which decreases in females exhibiting higher performance of maternal behavior, but it may contribute less to female sexual behavior. Additionally, we examined the brain of common marmosets and found an area that appears to be homologous with the mouse SDA-DH. The sexually dimorphic structure identified in this study is not specific to mice and may be found in other species.

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Sexual Experience Does Not Compensate for the Disruptive Effects of Zinc Sulfate--Lesioning of the Main Olfactory Epithelium on Sexual Behavior in Male Mice

Chemical Senses ◽

10.1093/chemse/bjl018 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 31 (8) ◽

pp. 753-762 ◽

Cited By ~ 59

Author(s):

M. Keller ◽

Q. Douhard ◽

M. J. Baum ◽

J. Bakker

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Olfactory Epithelium ◽

Zinc Sulfate ◽

Sexual Experience ◽

Male Mice ◽

Main Olfactory Epithelium

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Development of the main olfactory system and main olfactory epithelium-dependent male mating behavior are altered in Go-deficient mice

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1613026113 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 113 (39) ◽

pp. 10974-10979 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jung-Mi Choi ◽

Sung-Soo Kim ◽

Chan-Il Choi ◽

Hye Lim Cha ◽

Huy-Hyen Oh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mating Behavior ◽

Sensory Neurons ◽

Olfactory Epithelium ◽

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Cell Types ◽

Mutant Mice ◽

Male Mating ◽

Α Subunit ◽

Female Mice ◽

Main Olfactory Epithelium

In mammals, initial detection of olfactory stimuli is mediated by sensory neurons in the main olfactory epithelium (MOE) and the vomeronasal organ (VNO). The heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein Go is widely expressed in the MOE and VNO of mice. Early studies indicated that Go expression in VNO sensory neurons is critical for directing social and sexual behaviors in female mice [Oboti L, et al. (2014) BMC Biol 12:31]. However, the physiological functions of Go in the MOE have remained poorly defined. Here, we examined the role of Go in the MOE using mice lacking the α subunit of Go. Development of the olfactory bulb (OB) was perturbed in mutant mice as a result of reduced neurogenesis and increased cell death. The balance between cell types of OB interneurons was altered in mutant mice, with an increase in the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive interneurons at the expense of calbindin-positive interneurons. Sexual behavior toward female mice and preference for female urine odors by olfactory sensory neurons in the MOE were abolished in mutant male mice. Our data suggest that Go signaling is essential for the structural and functional integrity of the MOE and for specification of OB interneurons, which in turn are required for the transmission of pheromone signals and the initiation of mating behavior with the opposite sex.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of A Near-Complete Spatial Map of Olfactory Receptors in the Mouse Main Olfactory Epithelium.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.733310926.793558077 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Bernd Fritzsch

Keyword(s):

Olfactory Epithelium ◽

Olfactory Receptors ◽

Main Olfactory Epithelium

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Extinction reverses olfactory fear-conditioned increases in neuron number and glomerular size

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1505068112 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (41) ◽

pp. 12846-12851 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Filomene G. Morrison ◽

Brian G. Dias ◽

Kerry J. Ressler

Keyword(s):

Olfactory Bulb ◽

Learning And Memory ◽

Olfactory Epithelium ◽

Olfactory System ◽

Structural Changes ◽

Freezing Behavior ◽

Extinction Training ◽

Odor Stimulus ◽

Main Olfactory Epithelium ◽

Odor Learning

Although much work has investigated the contribution of brain regions such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex to the processing of fear learning and memory, fewer studies have examined the role of sensory systems, in particular the olfactory system, in the detection and perception of cues involved in learning and memory. The primary sensory receptive field maps of the olfactory system are exquisitely organized and respond dynamically to cues in the environment, remaining plastic from development through adulthood. We have previously demonstrated that olfactory fear conditioning leads to increased odorant-specific receptor representation in the main olfactory epithelium and in glomeruli within the olfactory bulb. We now demonstrate that olfactory extinction training specific to the conditioned odor stimulus reverses the conditioning-associated freezing behavior and odor learning-induced structural changes in the olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulb in an odorant ligand-specific manner. These data suggest that learning-induced freezing behavior, structural alterations, and enhanced neural sensory representation can be reversed in adult mice following extinction training.

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