Olfactory bulbectomy and gender differences in maternal behaviors of rats

Olfactory bulbectomy markedly reduced the number of days required before maternally inexperienced female and male animals retrieved pups. Bulbectomy eliminated a difference between the genders in the latency to retrieve, but did not affect differences with regard to other aspects of maternal behavior. The results were similar to those obtained with peripherally-induced anosmia and suggest that differences in functioning of the olfactory system may play a role in gender dimorphic behaviors.