Cellular and behavioral effects of cranial irradiation of the subventricular zone in adult mice.
PLoS ONE. 2009-09-15; 4(9): e7017
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007017
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1. PLoS One. 2009 Sep 15;4(9):e7017. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007017.
Cellular and behavioral effects of cranial irradiation of the subventricular zone
in adult mice.
Lazarini F(1), Mouthon MA, Gheusi G, de Chaumont F, Olivo-Marin JC, Lamarque S,
Abrous DN, Boussin FD, Lledo PM.
Author information:
(1)Institut Pasteur, Laboratory for Perception and Memory, Paris, France.
BACKGROUND: In mammals, new neurons are added to the olfactory bulb (OB)
throughout life. Most of these new neurons, granule and periglomerular cells
originate from the subventricular zone (SVZ) lining the lateral ventricles and
migrate via the rostral migratory stream toward the OB. Thousands of new neurons
appear each day, but the function of this ongoing neurogenesis remains unclear.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we irradiated adult mice to impair
constitutive OB neurogenesis, and explored the functional impacts of this
irradiation on the sense of smell. We found that focal irradiation of the SVZ
greatly decreased the rate of production of new OB neurons, leaving other brain
areas intact. This effect persisted for up to seven months after exposure to 15
Gray. Despite this robust impairment, the thresholds for detecting pure odorant
molecules and short-term olfactory memory were not affected by irradiation.
Similarly, the ability to distinguish between odorant molecules and the
odorant-guided social behavior of irradiated mice were not affected by the
decrease in the number of new neurons. Only long-term olfactory memory was found
to be sensitive to SVZ irradiation.
CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest that the continuous production of
adult-generated neurons is involved in consolidating or restituting long-lasting
olfactory traces.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007017
PMCID: PMC2737283
PMID: 19753118 [Indexed for MEDLINE]