Top‐down inputs from the olfactory cortex in the postprandial period promote elimination of granule cells in the olfactory bulb

Elimination of granule cells (GCs) in the olfactory bulb (OB) is not a continual event but is promoted during a short time window in the postprandial period, typically with postprandial sleep. However, the neuronal mechanisms for the enhanced GC elimination during the postprandial period are not understood. Here, we addressed the question of whether top‐down inputs of centrifugal axons from the olfactory cortex (OC) during the postprandial period are involved in the enhanced GC elimination in the OB. Electrical stimulation of centrifugal axons from the OC of anesthetized mice increased GC apoptosis. Furthermore, pharmacological suppression of top‐down inputs from the OC to the OB during the postprandial period of freely behaving mice by γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)_A receptor agonist injection in the OC significantly decreased GC apoptosis. Remarkable apoptotic GC elimination in the sensory‐deprived OB was also suppressed by pharmacological blockade of top‐down inputs. These results indicate that top‐down inputs from the OC to the OB during the postprandial period are the crucial signal promoting GC elimination, and suggest that the life and death decision of GCs in the OB is determined by the interplay between bottom‐up sensory inputs from the external world and top‐down inputs from the OC.