Both olfactory epithelial and vomeronasal inputs are essential for activation of the medial amygdala and preoptic neurons of male rats

Dhungel, Sunil; Masaoka, Mio; Rai, Dilip; Kondo, Yasuhiko; Sakuma, Yasuo

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.09.051

Cited by 31 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…2G). This finding is in contrast to mice with complete ablation of the MOE, which have been reported to show a reduction of c-fos expression in the AOB following exposure to estrous-female-derived odors (16,19).…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 94%

“…This finding indicates that the MOS-and VNS-mediated pheromone pathways converge and integrate in yet-undefined areas in the brain. The VNS sends sensory information to multiple nuclei in the amygdala and hypothalamus (16,48,49). We investigated whether these areas also receive inputs from the MOS.…”

Section: Altered Aversive Behaviors Induced By An Alarm Pheromone In δDmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, complete loss of MOS function causes anosmia and severely impairs sniffing and chemoinvestigatory behaviors (11,13,14,16). Chemoinvestigation and the accompanying physical contact of the nose and pheromone source are essential for VNS activation; therefore, the loss of MOS function indirectly impairs the VNS, because the VNS becomes behaviorally isolated from pheromone cues in mice (16)(17)(18)(19).Therefore, it is useful to establish a novel animal model, in which functions of the MOS in controlling social behavior are genetically dissociated from those of the VNS to answer several fundamental questions, such as which social behaviors are regulated by the MOS or what is the difference between the MOS and VNS in regulating social behaviors? A further question is whether the MOS has its own pheromone pathway in the brain, separate from the VNS.…”

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confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic dissection of pheromone processing reveals main olfactory system-mediated social behaviors in mice

Matsuo¹,

Hattori

Asaba

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Most mammals have two major olfactory subsystems: the main olfactory system (MOS) and vomeronasal system (VNS). It is now widely accepted that the range of pheromones that control social behaviors are processed by both the VNS and the MOS. However, the functional contributions of each subsystem in social behavior remain unclear. To genetically dissociate the MOS and VNS functions, we established two conditional knockout mouse lines that led to either loss-of-function in the entire MOS or in the dorsal MOS. Mice with whole-MOS loss-of-function displayed severe defects in active sniffing and poor survival through the neonatal period. In contrast, when loss-of-function was confined to the dorsal MOB, sniffing behavior, pheromone recognition, and VNS activity were maintained. However, defects in a wide spectrum of social behaviors were observed: attraction to female urine and the accompanying ultrasonic vocalizations, chemoinvestigatory preference, aggression, maternal behaviors, and risk-assessment behaviors in response to an alarm pheromone. Functional dissociation of pheromone detection and pheromonal induction of behaviors showed the anterior olfactory nucleus (AON)-regulated social behaviors downstream from the MOS. Lesion analysis and neural activation mapping showed pheromonal activation in multiple amygdaloid and hypothalamic nuclei, important regions for the expression of social behavior, was dependent on MOS and AON functions. Identification of the MOS-AON-mediated pheromone pathway may provide insights into pheromone signaling in animals that do not possess a functional VNS, including humans.social behavior | pheromone processing | main olfactory system | vomeronasal system M ost mammals have two major olfactory subsystems-the main olfactory system (MOS) and vomeronasal system (VNS). The MOS comprises the main olfactory epithelium (MOE), in which olfactory sensory neurons detect odorants, and their projection target, the main olfactory bulb (MOB) (Fig. S1A). Although the MOS is thought to detect volatile odorants and the VNS is thought to be important for the detection of nonvolatile pheromones, evidence shows that the MOS is also involved in pheromone detection (1-8). Surgical blocking of odorant access to the MOE, but not surgical ablation of the vomeronasal epithelium (VNE), eliminates preference to odors from the opposite sex in ferrets (9, 10). In mice, chemical ablation of the MOE impairs male and female sexual behaviors (11,12). In these experiments in which the MOE was ablated, the function of the VNS is not directly disrupted, because the VNS is activated by direct application of urine to the nostril. Thus, these results indicate that the MOS also contributes to pheromone processing and related behaviors.Nonconditional disruption of genes encoding signal transduction proteins that are required for activation of olfactory neurons, such as cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (Cnga2) or adenylyl cyclase 3, impairs several social behaviors (11,(13)(14)(15). However, complete loss of MOS function causes a...

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 94%

Section: Altered Aversive Behaviors Induced By An Alarm Pheromone In δDmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Genetic dissection of pheromone processing reveals main olfactory system-mediated social behaviors in mice

Matsuo¹,

Hattori

Asaba

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…The PVN can release OT into the MeA to facilitate olfactory recognition, which in turn can facilitate motivated behaviors through its dense interconnections with the mPOA and BNST (Been and Petrulis, 2011). A normal social encounter without copulation can also activate the MeA and mPOA (Dhungel et al, 2011), although presumably more slowly than after sex. MeA and mPOA regulate the recognition and attraction toward sexually available partners, but also regulate sexual performance, integration of reward and neuroendocrine cascades that follow sex.…”

Section: Areas Mainly Involved In Social Recognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurobiology of social attachments

Coria-Ávila

Manzo

Hernández

et al. 2014

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

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a b s t r a c tMany types of social attachments can be observed in nature. We discuss the neurobiology of two types (1) intraspecific (with a partner) and (2) parental (with the offspring). Stimuli related to copulation facilitate the first, whereas pregnancy, parturition and lactation facilitate the second. Both types develop as consequence of cohabitation. These events seem to stimulate similar neural pathways that increase (1) social recognition, (2) motivation, reward; and (3) decrease fear/anxiety. Subregions of the amygdala and cortex facilitate social recognition and also disinhibition to decrease rejection responses. The interrelationship between MeA, BNST, LS may mediate the activation of NAcc via the mPOA to increase motivation and reward. Cortical areas such as the ACC discriminate between stimuli. The interaction between OT and D2-type receptors in NAcc shell facilitates intraspecific attachment, but D1-type appears to facilitate parental attachment. This difference may be important for maternal females to direct their attention, motivation and expression of attachment toward the appropriate target.

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Mechanisms of Behaviors Related to Reproduction

Sakuma

2022

Neuroscience in the 21st Century

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Both olfactory epithelial and vomeronasal inputs are essential for activation of the medial amygdala and preoptic neurons of male rats

Cited by 31 publications

References 47 publications

Genetic dissection of pheromone processing reveals main olfactory system-mediated social behaviors in mice

Genetic dissection of pheromone processing reveals main olfactory system-mediated social behaviors in mice

Neurobiology of social attachments

Mechanisms of Behaviors Related to Reproduction

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