Olfactory bulbectomy prevents the gonadal regression associated with short photoperiod in male golden hamsters.

In male rats, pre-pubertal olfactory bulbectomy (BX) unmasks photoperiodic responsiveness so that maintenance of BX animals on short photoperiod results in a pineal gland mediated gonadal regression (Nelson and Zucker, Neuroendocrinology, 32 (1981) 266). The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of BX in Syrian hamsters, a species where short photoperiod alone induces a pineal gland induced testicular regression. Pre-pubertal (25-days old) Syrian hamsters underwent either sham BX, BX, or pinealectomy (PX) plus BX. One half of each group was then placed on an LD 14:10 photoperiod and the other half on LD 6:18. Thirteen weeks later all animals were decapitated. In the animals on LD 14:10, BX resulted in a slight but highly significant increase in testes weight but had no effect on other parameters examined. Sham BX hamsters on LD 6:18 had regressed testes and reduced serum testosterone levels, but these effects of short photoperiod were reversed in BX hamsters, so that the testes and seminal vesicles remained large. In addition, serum LH and testosterone levels were elevated following BX of the animals on LD 6:18. These results indicate that the olfactory bulbs tonically inhibit the reproductive system even in male hamsters maintained on long photoperiod and that olfactory bulbectomy prevents gonadal regression in male Syrian hamsters on short photoperiod, an effect which is the opposite of results obtained in rats on short photoperiod. Elucidation of the neural pathways involved and the nature of the relationship between the olfactory bulb and the pineal gland or photoperiodism remains for further investigation.