Importance of !b-noradrenergic receptors in the olfactory bulb of sheep for recognition of lambs

Within a 4-hr period after parturition, the ewe learns the odor of her lamb that will allow later recognition of her offspring from alien lamb. This study investigated the importance of the activation of olfactory bulb (OB) β-noradrenergic receptors in establishing this olfactory memory. Pregnant ew...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral neuroscience 1990-06, Vol.104 (3), p.464-469
Main Authors: Lévy, F., Gervais, R., Kindermann, U., Orgeur, P., Piketty, V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal
Female
Female Animals
Kinship Recognition
Neural Receptors
Norepinephrine
Olfactory Bulb
Olfactory Perception
Propranolol
Sheep
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Within a 4-hr period after parturition, the ewe learns the odor of her lamb that will allow later recognition of her offspring from alien lamb. This study investigated the importance of the activation of olfactory bulb (OB) β-noradrenergic receptors in establishing this olfactory memory. Pregnant ewes ( n = 24) were cannulated bilaterally in the OB. Two days before parturition, OB were perfused continuously (10 μl/hr) with either a solution containing the selective β-noradrenergic antagonist propranolol (10 –3 M) or vehicle. The results showed that, although 8 of 9 control ewes were still able to bond selectively to their lambs, only 7 of 15 propranolol-treated animals were able to bond ( p = .04). These results suggest that activation of β-noradrenergic receptors in the OB during the period surrounding parturition is required to establish olfactory recognition of the lamb. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
ISSN:0735-7044
1939-0084
DOI:10.1037/0735-7044.104.3.464