Connections of the olfactory bulb in the gymnotiform fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus

Abstract

This work examines the connectivity of the olfactory bulb in the gynmotiform fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus. Wheat germ agglutinin conjugated horseradish peroxidase was iontophoresed in different areas and depths of the bulb in order to define its efferent and afferent connections. The olfactory bulb projects bilaterally via the medial (medial and centromedial fascicles) and lateral olfactory (lateral and centrolateral fascicles) tracts. The nervus terminalis courses through the ventromedial aspect of the bulb to terminate in parts of the medial subpallium and hypothalamus. Its telencephalic component could be identified by a nonpreadsorbable substance P-like immunoreactivity. Fibers within the medial olfactory tract form four telencephalic terminal fields: peduncular, medial, intermediate and posterior fields. The diencephalic terminal fields in the habenula, preoptic, and hypothalamic areas appear to correspond to some of the nervus terminalis fibers (von Bartheld and Meyer [1986] Cell Tissue Res. 245:143-158, Krishna et al. [1992] Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 85:111-117), and to axons of telencephalic bulbopetal cells of area dorsalis posterior. The terminal fields of the medial olfactory tract and nervus terminalis partially overlap in the ventral telencephalic areas partes ventralis, supracommissuralis, and rostral preoptic region. The lateral olfactory tract forms a lateral terminal field and contributes to the intermediate and posterior terminal fields. Olfactory fibers cross in the interbulbar, anterior, and habenular commissures and tuberal decussation. Consistent differences were noted between the medial and lateral olfactory bulb, with respect to their cytoarchitectonics, immunohistochemistry, and connections. In addition to the olfactory nerve, bulbar afferents are predominantly ipsilateral, with minor inputs originating from the contralateral bulb and telencephalic area dorsalis posterior, nucleus raphe centralis, and locus ceruleus.