UNILATERAL NARIS CLOSURE AND OLFACTORY SYSTEM-DEVELOPMENT

In most animals there is bilateral access of odorants to the olfactory sensory epithelium. Air enters the nose through two external nares an d passes back through the nasal cavity, which is divided down the midl ine by a cartilaginous nasal septum. The olfactory mucosa, a sheet of ciliated bipolar receptor cells, is found in the caudal two thirds of the nasal cavity. Axons from the sensory cells project to an ipsilater al extension of the telencephalon known as the olfactory bulb. If a si ngle external naris of a rat pup is surgically closed (usually via bri ef cauterization) on the day after the day of birth (Pi) and the subje ct is examined on P30, the size of the ipsilateral olfactory bulb is r educed by approximately 25%. The large reduction in size, coupled with the clear lamination and other features of the olfactory system, indi cates that the manipulation is an ideal preparation for examining the regulation of early growth. We know that both olfactory bulbs are of e qual size at the time of occlusion, but that 30 days later there is a large discrepancy. What series of events produces the changes? The pre sent paper outlines what is known about the anatomical, biochemical an d physiological changes introduced by naris occlusion in order to lay a framework for further work.