Olfactory bulb potentials evoked by electrical stimulation of the contralateral bulb

¹ Department of Physiology, University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver, Colorado

A single, short-duration electrical stimulus delivered to one olfactory bulb evokes a potential in the contralateral bulb. As recorded with a unipolar electrode, the potential is negative central to, and positive peripheral to the external plexiform layer. Bipolar recordings from multiple sites show that the potential is not actively propagated. The potential summates in response to tetanic stimulation and is blocked by anoxia and dimethyl ether d-tubocurarine. In addition to confirming the existence of an interolfactory bulb system, the electrophysiological evidence in conjunction with known anatomical relationships strongly suggests that the evoked potential is a postsynaptic potential of the internal granular cells.