Long-term olfactory enrichment promotes non-olfactory cognition, noradrenergic plasticity and remodeling of brain functional connectivity in older mice.

Brain functional and structural changes lead to cognitive decline during aging, but a high level of cognitive stimulation during life can improve cognitive performances in the older adults, forming the cognitive reserve. Noradrenaline has been proposed as a molecular link between environmental stimulation and constitution of the cognitive reserve. Taking advantage of the ability of olfactory stimulation to activate noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus, we used repeated olfactory enrichment sessions over the mouse lifespan to enable the cognitive reserve buildup.

Chronic sodium bromide treatment relieves autistic-like behavioral deficits in three mouse models of autism.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders whose diagnosis relies on deficient social interaction and communication together with repetitive behavior. To date, no pharmacological treatment has been approved that ameliorates social behavior in patients with ASD. Based on the excitation/inhibition imbalance theory of autism, we hypothesized that bromide ions, long used as an antiepileptic medication, could relieve core symptoms of ASD.

12 months is a pivotal age for olfactory perceptual learning and its underlying neuronal plasticity in aging mice.

Normal brain aging is associated with deficits in cognitive and sensory processes, due to subtle impairment of synaptic contacts and plasticity. Impairment may be discrete in basal conditions but is revealed when cerebral plasticity is involved, such as in learning contexts. We used olfactory perceptual learning, a non-associative form of learning in which discrimination between perceptually similar odorants is improved following exposure to these odorants, to better understand the cellular bases of olfactory aging in mice.

Role of Adult-Born Versus Preexisting Neurons Born at P0 in Olfactory Perception in a Complex Olfactory Environment in Mice.

Olfactory perceptual learning is defined as an improvement in the discrimination of perceptually close odorants after passive exposure to these odorants. In mice, simple olfactory perceptual learning involving the discrimination of two odorants depends on an increased number of adult-born neurons in the olfactory bulb, which refines the bulbar output. However, the olfactory environment is complex, raising the question of the adjustment of the bulbar network to multiple discrimination challenges.