Neonatal sensory deprivation reduces tufted cell number in mouse olfactory bulbs.

Quantitative morphometric methods were used in mice to study the effect postnatal olfactory deprivation has on tufted cell size and number. The two layers containing tufted cells, the external plexiform and glomerular layers, are considerably smaller in the deprived olfactory bulbs than in the contralateral, experienced olfactory bulbs. While most of this volumetric deficit may be due to an attenuation of synaptogenesis and dendritic elaboration, an additional factor contributing to the reduced volume of these bulbar layers is a substantial loss of tufted cells. Since tufted cells are generated prenatally, their reduced number in the postnatally deprived olfactory bulb is probably a consequence of retarded migration or cell death.