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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Neural Circuits
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fncir.2024.1467203
This article is part of the Research Topic Neural Circuit Formation and Sensory Inputs View all 20 articles

Olfactory neurogenesis plays different parts at successive stages of life, implications for mental health

Provisionally accepted
Jules Dejou Jules Dejou 1,2Nathalie Mandairon Nathalie Mandairon 1,2Anne Didier Anne Didier 1,2,3*
  • 1 Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Bron, France
  • 2 Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, Rhône-Alpes, France
  • 3 Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The olfactory bulb is a unique site of continuous neurogenesis, primarily generating inhibitory interneurons, a process that begins at birth and extends through infancy and adulthood. This review examines the characteristics of olfactory bulb neurogenesis, focusing on granule cells, the most numerous interneurons, and how their age and maturation affect their function. Adult-born granule cells, while immature, contribute to the experience-dependent plasticity of the olfactory circuit by enabling structural and functional synaptic changes. In contrast, granule cells born early in life form the foundational elements of the olfactory bulb circuit, potentially facilitating innate olfactory information processing. The implications of these neonatal cells on early life olfactory memory and their impact on adult perception, particularly in response to aversive events and susceptibility to emotional disorders, warrant further investigation.This review examines the characteristics of olfactory bulb neurogenesis, focusing on granule cells and how their age and maturation affect their function. It explores the role of adult-born granule cells in experience-dependent plasticity and the foundational role of neonatal granule cells in olfactory information processing. The implications for adult perception, early life olfactory memory, and susceptibility to emotional disorders are also considered.

    Keywords: Neurogenesis, Olfactory Bulb, Mouse, development, Learning, Memory, Mental Disorders

    Received: 19 Jul 2024; Accepted: 31 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dejou, Mandairon and Didier. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Anne Didier, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Bron, France

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