Dr. Pieper et al., OLFACTORY BULBECTOMY COUNTERACTS INHIBITORY EFFECT OF FOOD RESTRICTION ON REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTION, The American journal of physiology, 266(6), 1994, pp. 180001891-180001895
Previous studies have shown that bilateral removal of the olfactory bu
lbs (BX) results in a large increase in gonadotropin secretion in gold
en hamsters. The principal question addressed by the present study was
whether BX would offset the inhibitory effect of food restriction on
reproductive function. BX or sham (SH) BX male golden hamsters were fe
d ad libitum or were restricted to only enough food to maintain them a
t 70% of the body weight of control groups fed ad libitum. The SH-70%
group underwent marked testicular regression after similar to 6-8 wk,
but the testes size of the BX-70% hamsters decreased only in proportio
n to the decrease in body weight. The BX food-restricted group had to
be fed more food to maintain the same weight as the SH-70% hamsters, a
nd the BX-70% group also had a higher core body temperature, lower per
cent body fat, and higher serum free thyroxine levels than SH food-res
tricted animals. In summary, removal of the olfactory bulbs appears to
facilitate tonic gonadotropin secretion, such that food restriction i
s no longer capable of inducing testicular regression. In addition, th
e olfactory bulbs may have a strong influence on metabolic function in
golden hamsters.