| Title: | Pheromones and Mammalian Behavior |
| Journal Title: | The Neurobiology of Olfaction |
| Abstract: | "From the most gregarious to the most solitary, all animals have to coordinate their activity with other members of their species if they are to survive and reproduce. This requires some form of communication, which for the majority of animals involves the use of chemical signals, known as pheromones. Karlson and Luscher (1959) initially proposed the term pheromone. They defined pheromones as 'substances secreted to the outside of an individual and received by a second individual of the same species in which they release a specific reaction, for example, a definite behavior or developmental process.' Although not part of the original definition, the term pheromone is usually reserved for chemical signals that are produced and received by members of the same species, in which both the sender and receiver of the signal gain benefit (Wyatt 2003). In this case, selective pressures usually lead to the coevolution specialized sending and receiving systems for pheromones. The identification of pheromones started in the 1950s with the purification of only 5.3 mg of the male silk moth attractant bombykol, from the scent glands of 313,000 female silk moths (Butenandt et al. 1959). Bombykol has since become a classic example of a sex attractant pheromone, attracting male silk moths over large distances. However, there has been considerable debate regarding whether the term pheromone, which was initially applied to insect chemosignals, can be usefully applied to vertebrates (Doty 2003). The issue comes down to what is meant by a 'definite response.' Vertebrate, especially mammalian, behavior is generally more dependent on context and learning than insect behavior, and therefore, responses to chemical signals are more difficult to observe, and rarely consistently effective in all individuals all of the time. This chapter reviews the recent evidence that has accumulated in support of mammalian pheromones that exert significant influence over mammalian physiology and behavior. In doing so, it takes a relatively broad view in discussing all intraspecific, specialized semiochemical signals as potential pheromones, while acknowledging that they may not meet the narrower interpretations of some researchers in the field" |
| Notes: | "engMenini, Anna Brennan, Peter A Review Book Chapter" |
