The Grueneberg ganglion projects to the olfactory bulb

Neuroreport. 2005 Nov 28;16(17):1929-32. doi: 10.1097/01.wnr.0000186597.72081.10.

Abstract

The Grueneberg ganglion is a compact cluster of neurons in the rostral nasal vestibule once thought to be a component of the terminal nerve, a non-sensory nerve that does not innervate the olfactory bulb. Its strong expression of olfactory marker protein, a pan-olfactory marker, in mice led us to re-examine this conclusion. Here, we demonstrate that the Grueneberg ganglion projects axons from the nasal vestibule, along the septum, through the cribriform plate and onto the olfactory necklace domain of the olfactory bulbs where it forms glomeruli. Its expression of olfactory marker protein, combined with its direct wiring to the olfactory bulb, strongly suggest that the Grueneberg ganglion is a component of the olfactory pathway.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomarkers
  • Carbocyanines
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Ganglia, Sensory / cytology*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred Strains
  • Mice, Mutant Strains
  • Nose / innervation
  • Olfactory Bulb / cytology*
  • Olfactory Pathways / cytology*

Substances

  • 3,3'-dihexadecylindocarbocyanine
  • Biomarkers
  • Carbocyanines
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins