A new surgical approach to the study of vomeronasal system regeneration

The vomeronasal system, including the vomeronasal organ, the accessory olfactory bulb and higher centers, functions to detect substances associated with social and reproductive behavior (Wysocki, 1979; Halpern, 1987). The vomeronasal epithelium has a structure similar to that of the olfactory epithelium, consisting of receptor neurons, supporting cells and precursor cells (Matsuoka et al., 2000). The axons of vomeronasal sensory cells terminate in the accessory olfactory bulb, while axons of olfactory sensory cells project directly to the main olfactory bulb (Matsuoka et al., 1998; Rodriguez et al., 1999). In rodents, the accessory olfactory bulb is located at the posterocaudal region of the main olfactory bulb. The olfactory and vomeronasal systems provide ideal models for the study of neural degeneration and regeneration, because a continual neurogenesis of olfactory and vomeronasal neurons occurs during development and under normal physiological conditions i