In vivo vomeronasal stimulation reveals sensory encoding of conspecific and allospecific cues by the mouse accessory olfactory bulb
Open accessAbstract
The rodent vomeronasal system plays a critical role in mediating pheromone-evoked social and sexual behaviors. Recent studies of the anatomical and molecular architecture of the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and of its synaptic target, the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), have suggested that unique features underlie vomeronasal sensory processing. However, the neuronal representation of pheromonal information leading to specific behavioral and endocrine responses has remained largely unexplored due to the experimental difficulty of precise stimulus delivery to the VNO. To determine the basic rules of information processing in the vomeronasal system, we developed a unique preparation that allows controlled and repeated stimulus delivery to the VNO and combined this approach with multisite recordings of neuronal activity in the AOB. We found that urine, a well-characterized pheromone source in mammals, as well as saliva, activates AOB neurons in a manner that reliably encodes the donor animal's sexual and genetic status. We also identified a significant fraction of AOB neurons that respond robustly and selectively to predator cues, suggesting an expanded role for the vomeronasal system in both conspecific and interspecific recognition. Further analysis reveals that mixed stimuli from distinct sources evoke synergistic responses in AOB neurons, thereby supporting the notion of integrative processing of chemosensory information.
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In rodents, processing of animal cues by the vomeronasal system is essential for discrimination of sex-specific social signals and identification of predators.
“In rodents, the processing of animal cues by the vomeronasal system is essential for the discrimination of sex-specific social signals and identification of predators (Dulac and Torello, 2003; Ben-Shaul et al., 2010; Kimchi et al., 2007; Stowers et al., 2002).”
From Neuronal Representation of Social Information in the Medial Amygdala of Awake Behaving Mice (2017) · cites this paper as Ben-Shaul et al., 2010
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- Authors
- Ben-Shaul, Y., Katz, L. C., Mooney, R., & Dulac, C.
- Affiliations
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138; and
- Duke University (US)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2010-03-16
- Volume
- 107
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 5172-5177
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC2841925
- OpenAlex
- W2113370491
- Cited by
- 173
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 5.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Ion Channels and Receptors
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies
- Keywords
- vomeronasal system, accessory olfactory bulb, pheromones, urine, saliva, conspecific recognition, predator cues, sexual status, genetic status
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Cues, Female, Male, Neurons, Odorants, Olfactory Bulb, Physical Stimulation, Sensation, Sex Characteristics, Species Specificity, Time Factors, Signal Transduction, Vomeronasal Organ, TRPC Cation Channels, Mice
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