Functional role of dopaminergic and adult generated glutamatergic interneurons in the mouse olfactory bulb

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Magdalena Götz
• Subject Area: Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
• Term: from 2011 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 190796601

The olfactory system is one of the few areas in the adult mammalian brain that exhibit continuing life-long neurogenesis. The adult-generated neurons of the olfactory bulb (OB) are born in the adult subventricular zone (SVZ) and migrate into the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to the OB where they differentiate into specific subtypes of OB interneurons, granule neurons and subtypes of periglomerular neurons (PGNs). However, the specific role of these neuronal subtypes and their life-long new addition to the network of the OB is not known. To clarify the role of the continuous integration of these specific newly generated neuronal subtypes for the adult olfactory system we will examine the dopaminergic subset of periglomerular interneurons PGNs, and the adult-generated glutamatergic neurons, another subset of PGNs. We shall examine on the one hand the activation of these neurons by c-fos upon specific olfactory stimuli and on the other hand the consequences of manipulating the numbers of these specific interneurons at the behavioural level. Using different mouse mutants and inducible genetic approaches we will reduce or completely abolish dopaminergic PGNs or selectively silence adult-generated glutamatergic OB interneurons. These approaches will improve our understanding of the general function of these interneurons for olfactory behaviour as well as the specific contribution of their integration in the adult animal.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants