Health News
Smell affects mating, aggression in mice
Dec 22, 2005, 0:50 GMT
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA, United States (UPI) -- University of California-San Francisco scientists have shed light on how the odor detecting system in mice sends signals that affect their social behavior.
'Understanding how mice process cues from the olfactory system ... should provide insight into the fundamental principles that mammalian brains use to transform sensory information into behavior,' said lead investigator Dr. Nirao Shah, an assistant professor of anatomy.
'There are striking genetic and neuroanatomic similarities between mice and humans. We hope such basic knowledge of how the brain functions will eventually be useful in understanding how the human brain generates behaviors in humans,' he added.
Shah said researchers have long thought rodents detect pheromones through a specialized nasal organ -- the vomeronasal organ - that`s separate from the main olfactory system.
The study showed male mice require intact functioning of their main olfactory epithelium, or MOE, to detect pheromones eliciting sexual behavior and fighting.
Shah said the study is important because it establishes a hitherto unsuspected role for the MOE in regulating mating and aggressive behavior in mice. He adds that while it appears humans do not have an intact vomeronasal organ, they do possesses a functioning MOE.
The findings appear in in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
