Slow potentials of the turtle olfactory bulb in response to odor stimulation of the nose.

Odor stimulation of the nose in the box turtle and the gopher tortoise produced a characteristic series of slow potentials in the olfactory bulb which were referred to as the odor evoked response. When recorded with direct coupling, the odor evoked response had 3 components: wave I, a short duration monophasic event; wave II, a long duration variation in the DC potential; and wave III, an oscillatory potential superimposed on wave II. Waves I and II were negative at bulbar surfaces receiving olfactory input and positive deep within the bulb. This series of potentials could be evoked by 3 methods of odor stimulation: (1) large puffs delivered from odorant test bottles, (2) small puffs delivered from a syringe and (3) continuous flow with concentration and nasal flow rate parameters controlled by an olfactometer. When the odor evoked response was recorded at a bulbar locus, these potentials were seen in response to each stimulation and the amplitudes of each wave were reproducible with the same stimulus. The amplitudes of the 3 waves were compared in the gopher tortoise and differed with the 3 odorants tested--high purity geraniol, technical grade geraniol and amyl acetate. Odorant concentration also directly affected the response amplitudes of all 3 wave components. The amplitudes of waves I and III markedly decreased with closely spaced stimulations recovering to near the initial values when the interstimulus interval was increased severalfold. This series of sensory evoked potentials is considered to reflect the processing of odor information from the olfactory receptors by the olfactory bulb.