Comparison of olfactory receptor (EOG) and bulbar (EEG) responses to amino acids in the catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.

The olfactory bulb electroencephalogram (EEG) has been used as a method to imply receptor events12,13. However, experiments to correlate olfactory receptor and bulbar EEG activity in the same species of fish has not been performed. Reported here is the comparison between the simultaneously recorded receptor electroolfactogram (EOG) and the bulbar EEG in the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. With amino acid stimulation of the olfactory mucosa, both the EOG and EEG exhibited an initial phasic response followed by a tonic level maintained throughout the stimulus duration. The relative magnitude of the tonic EEG activity (tonic level/phasic response), however, was significantly less than that for the EOG. Both EOG and integrated EEG responses increased exponentially with logarithmic increase in stimulus concentration from threshold to 10(-3) M. Estimated electrophysiological thresholds for 5 amino acids tested determined by both recording methods did not differ significantly and averaged 10(-9.3) +/- 0.2 M for the EOG and 10(-9.1) +/- 0.2 M for the EEG. There was also a significant correlation between the order of relative effectiveness for 11 amino acids determined by EOG and EEG recordings. These results indicate that in the catfish the olfactory bulb EEG is an indicator of olfactory receptor activity.