« Previous AbstractComplementary roles of the main and accessory olfactory systems in mammalian mate recognition    Next Abstract"Detection of the gasoline components methyl tert-butyl ether, benzene, toluene, and m-xylene using ion mobility spectrometers with a radioactive and UV ionization source" »

Front Neuroanat

Title:		Contribution of pheromones processed by the main olfactory system to mate recognition in female mammals
Author(s):		Baum MJ;
Address:		"Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston MA, USA"
Journal Title:		Front Neuroanat
Year:		2012
Volume:		20120605
Issue:
Page Number:		20 -
DOI:		10.3389/fnana.2012.00020
ISSN/ISBN:		1662-5129 (Electronic) 1662-5129 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Until recently it was widely believed that the ability of female mammals (with the likely exception of women) to identify and seek out a male breeding partner relied on the detection of non-volatile male pheromones by the female's vomeronasal organ (VNO) and their subsequent processing by a neural circuit that includes the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), vomeronasal amygdala, and hypothalamus. Emperical data are reviewed in this paper that demonstrate the detection of volatile pheromones by the main olfactory epithelium (MOE) of female mice which, in turn, leads to the activation of a population of glomeruli and abutting mitral cells in the main olfactory bulb (MOB). Anatomical results along with functional neuroanatomical data demonstrate that some of these MOB mitral cells project to the vomeronasal amygdala. These particular MOB mitral cells were selectively activated (i.e., expressed Fos protein) by exposure to male as opposed to female urinary volatiles. A similar selectivity to opposite sex urinary volatiles was also seen in mitral cells of the AOB of female mice. Behavioral data from female mouse, ferret, and human are reviewed that implicate the main olfactory system, in some cases interacting with the accessory olfactory system, in mate recognition"
Keywords:		ferret human hypothalamus mouse vomeronasal organ;
Notes:		"PubMed-not-MEDLINEBaum, Michael J eng Switzerland 2012/06/09 Front Neuroanat. 2012 Jun 5; 6:20. doi: 10.3389/fnana.2012.00020. eCollection 2012"