OdorMapDB is designed to be a database to support the experimental analysis of the molecular and functional organization of the olfactory bulb and its basis for the perception of smell. It is primarily concerned with archiving, searching and analysing maps of the olfactory bulb generated by different methods. The first aim is to facilitate comparison of activity patterns elicited by odor stimulation in the glomerular layer obtained by different methods in different species. It is further aimed at facilitating comparison of these maps with molecular maps of the projections of olfactory receptor neuron subsets to different glomeruli, especially for gene targeted animals and for antibody staining.

 

The main maps archived here are based on original studies using 2-deoxyglucose and on current studies using high resolution fMRI in mouse and rat. Links are also provided to sites containing maps by other laboratories. OdorMapDB thus serves as a nodal point in a multilaboratory effort to construct consensus maps integrating data from different methodological approaches.

 

OdorMapDB is integrated with two other databases in SenseLab: ORDB, a database of olfactory receptor genes and proteins, and OdorDB, a database of odor molecules that serve as ligands for the olfactory receptor proteins.

 

The combined use of the three integrated databases allows the user to identify odor ligands that activate olfactory receptors that project to specific glomeruli that are involved in generating the odor activity maps.

 

Related databases and resources:
2-DG: Leon Lab at the University of California at Irvine
c-Fos: Restrepo Lab at the University of Colorado Health Center

 

Illustration shows a map of 2-deoxyglucose activity in the glomerular layer of the main and accessary olfactory bulb. In Smith and Shepherd (1999), based on Stewart et al (1979).