Exposure to young preferentially activates adult-born neurons in the main olfactory bulb of sheep mothers

New neurons are continuously added to the main olfactory bulb (MOB) of the mammalian brain. While their function has been demonstrated in olfactory learning, it is less known in an ethological context such as mothering. We addressed this question by investigating whether in sheep mothers the adult-generated olfactory neurons contribute to the processing of odors involved in attraction to lambs and in memorization of its individual signature. Parturient ewes, after having 2 days of contact with their lamb and being separated from them for 3 h, were exposed for 2 h either to their own lamb, an unfamiliar lamb or a familiar adult sheep and then sacrificed. A control group was composed of mothers not exposed to any lambs for 5 h before sacrifice. Bromodeoxyuridine, a marker of cell division, was injected 3 months before parturition and revealed through immunocytochemistry in combination with markers of activation or neuronal maturation. The percentage of adult-born cells activated in the granular layer of the MOB was compared between the four groups. Results show that the whole population of olfactory neuroblasts and in particular the 3-month-old neuroblasts, are preferentially activated by lamb exposure and that the preferential activation is specific to olfactory neurogenesis since no activation was observed in newborn neurons of the dentate gyrus. However, neither neuroblasts nor mature neurons of the MOB differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar lamb exposure. Therefore, our data shows that adult-born neurons contribute to the processing of infantile odors which are determinant for maternal behavior.