Journal article

Publication year: 2013

Pages: 17247-17252

Journal: The Journal of Neuroscience

Volume number: 33

Issue number: 44

ISSN: 0270-6474

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2755-13.2013

Publisher: Society for Neuroscience

Abstract: 
Olfactory receptor neurons extend axons into the olfactory bulb, where they face the challenge to integrate into existing circuitry. The consensus view is that in vertebrates individual receptor neurons project unbranched axons into one specific glomerulus of the olfactory bulb. We report here that, strikingly different from the generally assumed wiring principle in vertebrate olfactory systems, axons of single receptor neurons of Xenopus laevis regularly bifurcate and project into more than one glomerulus. Specifically, the innervation of multiple glomeruli is present in all ontogenetic stages of this species, from the larva to the postmetamorphic frog. Also, we show that this unexpected wiring pattern is not restricted to axons of immature receptor neurons, but that it is also a feature of mature neurons of both the main and accessory olfactory system. This glomerular innervation pattern is unique among vertebrates investigated so far and represents a new olfactory wiring strategy.

Harvard Citation style: Hassenklöver, T. and Manzini, I. (2013) Olfactory wiring logic in amphibians challenges the basic assumptions of the unbranched axon concept, The Journal of Neuroscience, 33(44), pp. 17247-17252. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2755-13.2013

APA Citation style: Hassenklöver, T., & Manzini, I. (2013). Olfactory wiring logic in amphibians challenges the basic assumptions of the unbranched axon concept. The Journal of Neuroscience. 33(44), 17247-17252. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2755-13.2013