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Continuous Neural Plasticity in the Olfactory Intrabulbar Circuitry

In the mammalian brain each olfactory bulb contains two mirror-symmetric glomerular maps linked through a set of reciprocal intrabulbar projections. These projections connect isofunctional odor columns through synapses in the internal plexiform layer (IPL) to produce an intrabulbar map. Developmental studies show that initially intrabulbar projections broadly target the IPL on the opposite side of the bulb and refine postnatally to their adult precision by 7 weeks of age in an activity-dependent manner (Marks et al., 2006). In this study, we sought to determine the capacity of intrabulbar map to recover its precision after disruption. Using reversible naris closure in both juvenile and adult mice, we distorted the intrabulbar map and then removed the blocks for varying survival periods. Our results reveal that returning normal olfactory experience can indeed drive the re-refinement of intrabulbar projections but requires 9 weeks. Since activity also affects olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) (Suh et al., 2006), we further examined the consequence of activity deprivation on P2-expressing OSNs and their associated glomeruli. Our findings indicate that while naris closure caused a marked decrease in P2-OSN number and P2-glomerular volume, axonal convergence was not lost and both were quickly restored within 3 weeks. By contrast, synaptic contacts within the IPL also decreased with sensory deprivation but required at least 6 weeks to recover. Thus, we conclude that recovery of the glomerular map precedes and likely drives the refinement of the intrabulbar map while IPL contacts recover gradually, possibly setting the pace for intrabulbar circuit restoration.