α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor role in early odor learning preference in miceα7-nicotinic乙酰胆碱受体的作用早期学习偏好在老鼠身上气味.pdfVIP

a7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor: Role in Early Odor Learning Preference in Mice Jennifer L. Hellier1,3*, Nicole L. Arevalo1,3, Lynelle Smith1,3, Ka-Na Xiong1,3, Diego Restrepo1,2,3 1 Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America, 2 Program in Neuroscience, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America, 3 Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America Abstract Recently, we have shown that mice with decreased expression of a7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (a7) in the olfactory bulb were associated with a deficit in odor discrimination compared to wild-type mice. However, it is unknown if mice with decreased a7-receptor expression also show a deficit in early odor learning preference (ELP), an enhanced behavioral response to odors with attractive value observed in rats. In this study, we modified ELP methods performed in rats and implemented similar conditions in mice. From post-natal days 5–18, wild-type mice were stroked simultaneously with an odor presentation (conditioned odor) for 90 s daily. Control mice were only stroked, exposed to odor, or neither. On the day of testing (P21), mice that were stroked in concert with a conditioned odor significantly investigated the conditioned odor compared to a novel odor, as observed similarly in rats. However, mice with a decrease in a7-receptor expression that were stroked during a conditioned odor did not show a behavioral response to that odorant. These results suggest that decreased a7-receptor expression has a role in associative learning, olfactory pr