Title: | "The olfactory system, not the terminal nerve, functions as the primary chemosensory pathway mediating responses to sex pheromones in male goldfish" |
Author(s): | Fujita I; Sorensen PW; Stacey NE; Hara TJ; |
Address: | "Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena" |
ISSN/ISBN: | 0006-8977 (Print) 0006-8977 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Studies of the neural mechanisms underlying responsiveness to sex pheromones in male goldfish suggest that, contrary to a currently popular hypothesis, the olfactory system (cranial nerve 1), and not the terminal nerve (cranial nerve 0), mediates chemosensory responses to pheromones. When the olfactory epithelium of male goldfish was exposed to two identified sex pheromones, 17 alpha, 20 beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one and a mixture of prostaglandin F2 alpha and its metabolite 15-keto-prostaglandin F2 alpha, the spontaneous activity of olfactory neurons located in the medical portion of the olfactory bulb changed, while activity of terminal nerve cell bodies did not. A variety of other synthetic and natural odors also failed to alter the activity of terminal nerve cell bodies as did visual, magnetic, thermal, and auditory cues. Terminal nerve activity was, however, inhibited by tactile stimulation, suggesting that this system may have a modulatory role associated with the physical interactions that characterize goldfish spawning behavior" |
Keywords: | "Animals Brain Mapping Chemoreceptor Cells/*physiology Evoked Potentials/physiology Goldfish/*physiology Male Olfactory Bulb/physiology Olfactory Nerve/*physiology Olfactory Pathways/*physiology Sex Attractants/*physiology Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiolo;" |
Notes: | "MedlineFujita, I Sorensen, P W Stacey, N E Hara, T J eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Switzerland 1991/01/01 Brain Behav Evol. 1991; 38(6):313-21. doi: 10.1159/000114397" |