| Title: | Encoding pheromonal signals in the mammalian vomeronasal system |
| Address: | "Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. luo@neuro.duke.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.conb.2004.07.001 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0959-4388 (Print) 0959-4388 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | The past few years have delivered substantial progress in understanding the molecular logic of the mammalian vomeronasal system. Selective expression of vomeronasal receptors and high response selectivity of vomeronasal receptor neurons suggest that pheromones are encoded by labeled lines at the level of the vomeronasal organ: each pheromonal compound is represented by the activation of a small and exclusive subset of receptor neurons. Labeled lines might be transferred to the accessory olfactory bulb through convergent connections. The key challenges ahead will be to identify the pheromonal ligands of the receptors and unravel the functional connectivity from the vomeronasal organ to the hypothalamus |
| Keywords: | Animals Humans Mammals/anatomy & histology/*physiology Neural Pathways/cytology/physiology Olfactory Bulb/cytology/physiology Olfactory Receptor Neurons/cytology/physiology Pheromones/*physiology Signal Transduction/*physiology Synaptic Transmission/physi; |
| Notes: | "MedlineLuo, Minmin Katz, Lawrence C eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review England 2004/08/24 Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2004 Aug; 14(4):428-34. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2004.07.001" |
