Zinc-induced peripheral anosmia and exploratory behavior in two inbred mouse strains

Intranasal irrigation with 5% zinc sulfate solution, known to interfere with the ability to smell, caused a transient reduction in body weight following lowered food consumption in male mice from strains C57BL/6 and DBA/2. To ascertain their presumptive anosmia, a reliable test based on odor preference and aversion was developed. Peripherally-induced anosmia differentially affected some of the responses to novelty for which these inbred mouse strains were compared. Opposite effects of treatment were found for locomotor activity as well as for exploratory rearing frequency so that the original strain difference for locomotion was eliminated and the original strain difference for rearing was reversed. The latter findings indicate that the genotype-dependent differences in exploratory behavior observed in these mice are mediated by olfactory stimulus processing.