Characterization of the synaptic properties of olfactory bulb projections.

The olfactory bulb directly projects to several diverse telencephalic structures, but, to date, few studies have investigated the physiological characteristics of most of these areas. As an initial step towards understanding the odor processing functions of these secondary olfactory structures, we recorded evoked field potentials in response to lateral olfactory tract stimulation in vivo in urethane-anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats in the following brain structures: anterior olfactory nucleus, ventral and dorsal tenia tecta, olfactory tubercle, anterior and posterior piriform cortex, the anterior cortical nucleus of the amygdala, and lateral entorhinal cortex. Using paired-pulse stimulation with interpulse intervals of 25-1000 ms, we observed facilitation of the response to the second pulse in every structure examined, although the degree of facilitation varied among the target structures. Additionally, pulse train stimulation at three different frequencies (40, 10 and 2 Hz) produced facilitation of evoked field potentials that also varied among target structures. We discuss the potential utility of such short-term facilitation in olfactory processing.