Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Guthrie, Kathleen M.

Abstract

Unlike most neurons in the adult nervous system, olfactory receptor neurons (ORN), found in the olfactory epithelium (OE), continually turnover in the adult rat. These neurons project their axons to the olfactory bulb which is their central target. The present study eliminated target neurons in the bulb using N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) to examine the effects of target loss on ORN survival and maturation. We compared the effects of the NMDA lesion to bulbectomy, a permanent surgical removal of the bulb, which simultaneously causes damage to ORN axons. We found that unlike bulbectomy, large numbers of dying OE cells were not observed at any time after the lesion. The number of immature neurons increased relative to the control side, and the number of mature neurons also slightly increased with time following NMDA lesion. Survival of ORNs does not seem to be significantly altered in the absence of its target.

Extent

60 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2007.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00000838

Format

pdf

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