The Interplay between Reproductive Social Stimuli and Adult Olfactory Bulb Neurogenesis
Figure 3
Functional involvement of AOB newborn neurons in the mate pheromonal imprinting. Mating and male olfactory stimulation (physical contact without intromission) on female mice after different protocols of Ara-C/saline treatment in normal and vomeronasal nerve-lesioned mice (VNX). In the graph the pregnancy rates are shown (in percentage) as a function of the different treatment conditions evaluated 11 days after mating. In the schematic diagram the role of AOB newborn granule cells is illustrated (NGr) in the modulation of mate’s familiar signals (left side) and unfamiliar ones (right side): granule cells are preferentially involved in the detection of male individual odours once integrated into preexisting circuits. When highly responsive newborn granule cells (NGr) are eliminated after Ara-C treatment (left side, bottom), preexisting granule cells (PGr) are not sufficient to prevent pregnancy block by mate’s familiar odours (red arrows). . (Figure modified from [12]).
