Effects of olfactory bulbectomy and peripheral deafferentation on reactions to crowding in gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus).

Conducted tests of 90 male weanling Mongolian gerbils which sustained either olfactory bulbectomies, surgical ablation of olfactory receptors, or sham operations, and lived in 1 of several density conditions for 2 mo. Differential density conditions significantly affected only sham Ss. All anosmic Ss showed deficiencies in social-interaction tests. Only bulbectomized crowded Ss showed extreme aggression in the home cage. Olfaction is shown to be an important factor mediating deleterious effects of crowding. However, since the presence of the bulbs in receptor-ablated Ss was sufficient to control home-cage aggression, that displayed by bulbectomized crowded Ss cannot be attributed to mere anosmia but rather to loss of a nonolfactory, limbic function of the bulbs. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)