Effects of female urine upon the social behaviour of adult male mice

The effects of urine on aggressive responses by male golden hamsters

“…Jones and Nowell have suggested that such cues may be produced by territorial males. Female urine, regardless of the stage of the estrous cycle, appears t o contain attack-inhibiting cues, although their nature and site of production remains obscure (Dixon and MacKintosh, 1971;Mugford and Nowell, IY70a, 1971 b).…”

A possible confound and the role of olfaction in mouse aggressive interactions

“…The results also support the view that fighters employ olfactory rather than behavioral cues t o react differentially in agonistic situations. Experiment 11 demonstrates that even when the possible confound was allowed t o operate, it was not effective in altering the fighters' reaction, thus indicating that the possible confound is unlikely to operate in the experimental paradigm used in the urine-coating experiments [Dixon and Mackintosh, 1971;Lee and Brake, 1971;Mugford and Nowell, 1970a;Ropartz, 19681. In view of this finding, it seems appropriate to accept the previous experimental results using nonanosmic opponents in the investigation of olfaction and aggression.…”

Effects of cohabitation with females on aggressive behavior between male mice

“…This can be explained by the presence of some female odor transferred from the home cage by the experienced intruders. Indeed, aggression of male mice toward male intruders can be decreased by treating the intruders' fur with female urine (Dixon & Mackintosh, 1971 ; Lee & Brake, 1971; Mugford & Nowell, 1970). Furthermore, the experienced intruders were explored more and they elicited more mounting than the naive ones.…”