Ano-genital licking pheromone:
Dodecyl
propionate (DP), a chemical agent from rat pup’s preputial glands was found to
direct and regulate pup’s anogenital licking, with out which it may die. The
pheromone, dodecyl propionate, from pups’ preputial glands secretion,
sustaining pups’ anogenital licking by dams (Brouette-Lahlou et al., 1999). Methyl p-hydroxybenzoate has been identified
in the vaginal secretions of female dogs in estrus. When small amounts of this
compound were applied to the vulvas of anestrous or spayed females, males
placed with these females became sexually aroused and attempted to mount them (Goodwin et al., 1999).
Among mammals, odor-based communication between females and infants is
decisive for neonatal survival. So far, the nature of odor substrates involved
in the localization of the mother and their nipples is unknown in mice. The
present study aims: (1) to evaluate the specific attractive value of lactating
females to newborn mice, (2) to localize the abdominal region that is most
attractive to pups, and (3) to identify odor substrates that support such
attraction. Results showed that 5–6-day-old mice roam preferentially over the
abdomen of lactating females than the abdomen of non-lactating females. In
lactating females, pups are more attracted to abdominal areas comprising
nipples. The blend of odor substrates from nipples, as well as separate sources
presumed to compose it, viz. milk, maternal saliva and pup saliva, were
detectable and equivalently attractive to pups (Syrina et al., 2013). Female odors in the causation of sexual
behavior of male hamsters. I will not attempt to review related topics such as
the role of male odors in female sexual behavior or the relevant work on neural
mechanisms of sexual behavior in hamsters (Robert,1977). Among
rodents, males and females produce certain chemosignals that are different.
These sexually dimorphic odors serve both to attract conspecifics and to
coordinate reproductive physiology and behavior. In fact, among some rodents
such as housemice and golden hamsters, chemoreception may constitute the single
most important sensory modality for gender recognition and stimulation of
sexual arousal (Nyby,1983).
In male hamsters,
chemosensory responsiveness to sexually relevant female odors is facilitated by
testosterone (T). Some evidence suggests that this is not a sexually dimorphic
response in that adult females can respond similarly to males following
administration of T. This was evaluated and additionally, the hypothesis that
facilitation of chemosensory responsiveness by T might be mediated by the
conversion of T to aromatized or 5α-reduced metabolites was tested. In 2-min
tests, we measured the time adult males or females investigated female hamster
vaginal secretion (FHVS). These animals were gonadectomized and administered T,
5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), estradiol (E2), or a
combination of DHT and E2, by
subcutaneous implantation of Silastic capsules. FHVS tests were conducted
either 2 and 4 weeks, or 4 and 6 weeks subsequent to gonadectomy and hormone
treatment. Comparisons among groups receiving different hormone doses indicated
that (1) males and females are not equally responsive to the attractant
properties of FHVS, and that (2) neither DHT, E2, nor
their combination, can duplicate the effects of T in facilitating
responsiveness to FHVS in either sex. The copulatory behavior of males under
the hormone conditions described was also tested and it was found that
variations in the rate at which the test males sniffed or licked the receptive
female's ano-genital region correlated with variations in measures of the
males' sexual performance (Powers and
Maureen,1983). Discuss
aspects of olfactory communication. Marmosets regularly establish contact
by sniffing and licking each other's faces and ano-genital areas (Epple, Gisela,1972). The
effects of bilateral olfactory bulbectomy (sodium pentobarbital anesthesia)
upon mating behavior was studied in sexually experienced adult male cats. In
the first experiment preoperative and postoperative behavior of eight animals
were compared. After bulbectomy there were no decrements in mating behavior;
rather, small but significant increases in sexual activity occurred, e.g.,
increased frequency and duration of intromission, decreased initial and
intromissive mount latencies (Lester and
Cooper,1974). Methyl p-hydroxybenzoate
has been identified in the vaginal secretions offemale dogs in estrus. When
small amounts of this compound were applied to the vulvas of anestrous or
spayed females, males placed with these females became sexually aroused and
attempted to mount them (Casagrande et
al.,1978). Social, olfactory, and oestrous cycle influences on the
frequency of flank-marking and vaginal marking were studied in female hamsters.
Vaginal marking was more frequent in the presence of males or their odours than
females or their odours. Vaginal marking frequency was greatest the day before
oestrus (day 4), intermediate on days 2 and 3, and zero on the oestrous day.
The probable sexual advertisement functions of vaginal marking were discussed.
In contrast, flank-marking by females was stimulated more by other female
odours than by male odours. The frequency of flank-marking was elevated by
agonistic encounters and was reduced by sexual encounters. Flank-marking seems
to have functions related to functions of aggression among hamsters (Johnston,1977). Rostral
corticomedial amygdala (CMA), particularly the medial nucleus, is an important
site where vomeronasal and olfactory stimuli critical to male hamster
copulatory behavior are processed. To test the possibility that mating deficits
seen after lesions of the rostrally-placed medial nucleus may be due to the
interruption of chemosensory afferents to more caudal areas, we injected
tritiated amino acids into the accessory and main olfactory bulbs of male
hamsters in which we had first produced bilateral electrolytic lesions or sham
lesions in either the rostral CMA or basolateral amygdala, and then observed
mating behavior. Autoradiographic analysis of ‘vomeronasal’ projections from
the accessory olfactory bulb and ‘olfactory’ projections from the main bulb,
revealed that rostral CMA lesions which damaged the medial nucleus and extended
to the ventral surface of the brain (ventral lesions) interrupted vomeronasal
input to the more caudally-placed posteromedial cortical nucleus, but spared
olfactory inputs to adjacent caidal areas of the amygdala and piriform lobe. In
contrast, lesions which damaged a major portion of the medial nucleus but left
its ventral surface intact (dorsal lesions) spared both vomeronasal and
olfactory inputs to more caudal areas. Animals with both dorsal and ventral
lesions failed to mate posteperatively, whereas animals bearing sham lesions of
basolateral amygdaloid lesions, which, like dorsal lesions, spared
caudally-directed chemosensory afferents, continued to mate normally. We
conclude that mating deficits seen after rostral CMA lesions are due primarily
to destruction of the medial nucleus. (Michael and Winans,1982). Desert woodrats (Neotoma lepida
lepida) were observed for copulatory behaviour when the female was
in a state of naturally occurring oestrus (study 1) and following ovariectomy
and oestrogen and progesterone replacement (study 2). Males and females respond
in a similar way under conditions of natural and hormone-induced oestrus. Males
show a consummatory pattern involving multiple mounts and ejaculations, with
ejaculations occurring after single intromissions. Females show the lordosis
reflex accompanied by hop-and-dart and ear-wiggling responses. In addition,
both sexes show appetitive precopulatory behaviours; the male emits an audible
rasping vocalization as he trails and mounts the female, following a period of
intense sniffing of the female's anogenital region. The female also frequently
approaches and sniffs the male. In study 3, the role of female odours in the
sexual behaviour of the male was examined in eight of the nine pairs used in
studies 1 and 2. This was done by applying to the anogenital region of ovariectomized
females a combination of urine and vaginal secretions taken from familiar and
unfamiliar, and oestrogen-primed or non-oestrogen-primed females. The results
show that odours from oestrogen-primed females are not sufficient to elicit
male sexual behaviour, if the female is not sexually active. In study 4 the
eight males were tested for their preferences for urine and vaginal secretion
odours taken from females in different reproductive states and applied to
cotton swabs. These males spent more time sniffing unfamiliar oestrous odours
than unfamiliar non-oestrous odours and more time sniffing oestrous odours from
a familiar female over those taken from an unfamiliar female.
In study 5, 12
sexually active males were tested with oestrogen-primed females before and
after either olfactory bulb removal or sham-surgery. Bulbectomized animals
ceased copulating with females although females showed precopulatory
approaches.
Taken
together, these studies suggest that normal sexual behaviour in the male woodrat
requires that the female both possess the attractive odours (of oestrus) and
that she engage in appetitive precopulatory behavior (Alison et
al.,1981). When
simultaneously presented with amniotic fluid (AF) and distilled water in a double-choice
test, lambs displayed a clear attraction to AF. In experiment 3, two groups of
lambs received differing exposure to citral in utero: group I lambs were born
to ewes fed a citral diet and group 2 lambs were born to ewes never exposed to
citral (CI). They were assessed in a double-choice test contrasting CI and AF
(experiment 2 indicates that CI was neither attractive nor aversive in naive
lambs). Although control lambs showed a clear preference for AF over CI, those
exposed to CI prenatally did not orient discriminately to either stimulus,
suggesting that prenatal experience with CI may alter postnatal responsiveness
to it. Experiment 4 tested the ability of lambs to discriminate between the
chemosensory qualities of samples of own vs alien AF; lambs oriented
preferentially to their own AF. These findings suggest that prenatal
chemosensory experience may be stored by lambs for some time after birth and
influence their search behaviour (Schaal, Benoist et al.,1995). It
has been found that when a fetal female is exposed to androgen during gestation
it influences the extent to which juvenile behavior is modified (Goy, 1981; Goy
et
al., 1988). Twenty-five
daily treatments from E40 to E65 extensively masculinized the genitalia of
female offspring, but only masculinized their mounting behavior. Treatments of
the same length starting at E115 produced no genital masculinization, but
masculinized both mounting and rough play (Goy et
al., 1988). (Wallen and Michael, 2002). Animals
that have evolved exceptional capabilities, such as extraordinary longevity may
reveal pertinent and potentially critical insights into biomedical research
that are not readily apparent in standard laboratory animals. Naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber;
NMRs) are extremely long-lived (30 years) mouse-sized rodents. They
clearly have evolved superior anti-aging mechanisms as evident by the markedly
attenuated age-related decline in physiological function, sustained
reproductive capacity and pronounced cancer resistance throughout their
long-lives. These eusocial rodents, like the social insects, live in colonies
with breeding restricted to one female and a few males. Subordinates are
sexually monomorphic, yet retain the ability to become breeders, and can
undergo growth surges and neural modifications at any time throughout their
life. This plasticity in physiological and behavioral aspects may have
contributed to their long-lives. Naked mole-rats show numerous adaptations to
life underground including extreme tolerance of hypoxia, acid insensitivity, as
well as independence of photoendocrine systems. Here we review what is known
about their unique social structure, sensory systems, endocrinology and
neurobiology, and highlight areas that may be pertinent to biogerontology (Edrey et al.,2011).
References:
Alison S Fleming,., Phyllis Chee, and Frank Vaccarino.1981. Sexual
behaviour and its olfactory control in the desert woodrat (Neotoma lepida
lepida).Animal Behaviour, 29(3):
727-745.
Brouette-Lahlou
I, Godinot F, Vernet-Maury E. 1999.The mother rat’s
vomeronasal organ is involved in detection of dodecyl propionate, the pup’s
preputial gland pheromone. Physiol
Behav,66:427-436.
Casagrande, V. A.,
Anat Rec, R. G. Carey, and M. Conley.1978.Smears were obtained by gently
in-serting a defatted, sterile, saline-soaked. Brain Res,144:
383.
Edrey, Yael H., Thomas J. Park, Hyesin Kang, Adriana Biney,
and Rochelle Buffenstein. 2011."Endocrine function and neurobiology of the
longest-living rodent, the naked mole-rat." Experimental
gerontology 46(2): 116-123.
Epple,
Gisela.1972.Social communication by olfactory signals in marmosets. International Zoo Yearbook 12(1): 36-42.
Goodwin,
M., K. M. Gooding, and F. Regnier. 1979. Sex pheromone in the dog.Science, 203(4380):
559-561.
Goy, R. W. 1981. Differentiation of
male social traits in female rhesus macaques by prenatal treatments with
androgens: Variation in the type of androgen, duration, and timing of treatment.
In “Fetal
Endocrinology” (M. J. Novy and J. A. Resko, eds.), pp. 319–339. Academic Press,
New York.
Goy, R. W., Bercovitch, F. B., and
McBrair, M. C. 1988. Behavioral masculinization is independent of genital
masculinization in prenatally
androgenized female rhesus macaques. Horm. Behav. 22:552–571.
Johnston, Robert
E.1977. The causation of two scent-marking behaviour patterns in female
hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Animal Behaviour 25
(1977): 317IN1319-318327.
Lester
R., Aronson, and Cooper Madeline L..1974. Olfactory deprivation and mating
behavior in sexually experienced male cats. Behavioral biology 11(4):
459-480.
Michael Lehman,
N., and Winans Sarah S..1982.Vomeronasal and olfactory pathways to the amygdala
controlling male hamster sexual behavior: autoradiographic and behavioral
analyses." Brain research 240(1):27-41.
Nyby,
John.1983.Volatile and nonvolatile chemosignals of female rodents: Differences
in hormonal regulation. In Chemical signals in vertebrates 3:179-193.
Powers,
J. Bradley, and Maureen L. Bergondy.1983.Androgenic regulation of
chemoinvestigatory behaviors in male and female hamsters. Hormones and behavior 17(1): 28-44.
Robert Johnston,
E. 1977. Sex pheromones in golden hamsters. In Chemical signals in vertebrates, pp. 225-249. Springer US,.
Schaal, Benoist,
Pierre Orgeur, and Cécile Arnould.1995. Olfactory preferences in newborn lambs:
possible influence of prenatal experience. Behaviour 132(5):351-365.
Syrina Al
Aïn, , Amal Chraïti, Benoist Schaal, and Bruno Patris. 2013.Orientation of
newborn mice to lactating females: Identifying biological substrates of
semiochemical interest. Developmental psychobiology 55(2):
113-124.
Wallen, Kim, and
Michael J. Baum.2002. Masculinization and defeminization in altricial and
precocial mammals: comparative aspects of steroid hormone action. Hormones, brain and behavior 4:385-423.
No comments:
Post a Comment