Acquisition of Innate Odor Preference Depends on Spontaneous and Experiential Activities During Critical Period

Animals possess inborn ability to recognize certain odors to avoid predators, seek food and find mates. Innate odor preference has been thought to be genetically hardwired. Here we report that acquisition of innate odor recognition requires spontaneous neural activity and is influenced by sensory experience during early postnatal development. Genetic silencing of mouse olfactory sensory neurons during the critical period has little impact on odor sensitivity, discrimination and recognition later in life. However, it abolishes innate odor preference and alters the patterns of activation in brain centers. Moreover, exposure to an aversive odor during the critical period abolishes aversion in adulthood in an odor specific manner. The loss of innate aversion is associated with broadened projection of OSNs. Thus, a delicate balance of neural activity is required during critical period in establishing innate odor preference and ectopic projection is a convergent mechanism to alter innate odor valence Olfactory Epithelial mRNA profiles of 5-day old wild type (WT) and Kir+/- mice Olfactory Epithelial mRNA profiles of 5-day old control (Ctrl) and PEA-treated mice