« Previous Abstract"On the possible role of nonreproductive traits for the evolution of unisexuality: Life-history variation among males, females, and hermaphrodites in Opuntia robusta (Cactaceae)"    Next AbstractSensitivity enhancement in the determination of volatile biomarkers in saliva using a mass spectrometry-based electronic nose with a programmed temperature vaporizer »

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Title:		Role of the vomeronasal input in maternal behavior
Author(s):		Del Cerro MC;
Address:		"Department of Psychobiology, Psychology School, U.N.E.D., Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Madrid, Spain. delcerro@cu.uned.es"
Journal Title:		Psychoneuroendocrinology
Year:		1998
Volume:		23
Issue:		8
Page Number:		905 - 926
DOI:		10.1016/s0306-4530(98)00060-2
ISSN/ISBN:		0306-4530 (Print) 0306-4530 (Linking)
Abstract:		"This article reviews the role of the vomeronasal system in the induction of parental behavior in female and male rats, using, primarily, the sensitization model. The following questions are addressed: (1) Is the vomeronasal system sexually dimorphic? (2) Do the sex differences found in the VNS underlie those seen in behavior? (3) Do mechanisms, other than the classical 'organizational' effects of perinatal gonadal steroids, play a role in the organization of behavioral phenotypes in parental behavior? and (4) Does vomeronasal input play a role in the formation of the mother infant bond in humans? The first question has been answered throughout the 1980's in various studies of the organizational actions of postnatal exposure to gonadal steroids. The second aim has been addressed in a functional approach by lesion and neural activation studies. The experiments which lead us to consider the hypothesis that nonsteroidal factors in development, and specifically GABA, could account for the expression of parental care are reviewed. Finally, research relevant to the existence of a vomeronasal organ in humans and a possible pheromonal input in the formation of mother-infant bonds in humans is reviewed"
Keywords:		"Animals Female Humans Infant Male Maternal Behavior/*physiology Mother-Child Relations Nerve Net/physiology Paternal Behavior Receptors, GABA/physiology Sex Characteristics Vomeronasal Organ/*physiology;"
Notes:		"MedlineDel Cerro, M C eng P41 RR01638/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. Review England 1999/01/30 Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1998 Nov; 23(8):905-26. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4530(98)00060-2"