Suppression of running times by olfactory stimuli

Courtney, Robert J.; Reid, Larry D.; Wasden, Ronald E.

doi:10.3758/bf03331327

Cited by 28 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Cattarelli (1982a,b) found that rats (Rattus norvegicus) increase the amount of time spent hiding and become immobile when exposed to air odourized with fox (Vulpes vulpes) feces (diet not reported). Courtney, Reid & Wasden (1968) found that rats proceed through a maze more slowly after a cat had walked through it than in control treatments. Rats do not slow down when the maze is sprayed only with a strong deodorant, suggesting that the rats are not slowing in response to novel odours in general.…”

Section: Reduced Activitymentioning

confidence: 92%

The scent of death: Chemosensory assessment of predation risk by prey animals

1998

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It is well documented that animals take risk of predation into account when making decisions about how to behave in particular situations, often trading-off risk against opportunities for mating or acquiring energy. Such an ability implies that animals have reliable information about the risk of predation at a given place and time. Chemosensory cues are an important source of such information. They reliably reveal the presence of predators (or their presence in the immediate past) and may also provide information on predator activity level and diet. In certain circumstances (e.g., in the dark, for animals in hiding) they may be the only cues available. Although a vast literature exists on the responses of prey to predator chemosensory cues (or odours), these studies are widely scattered, from marine biology to biological control, and not well known or appreciated by behavioural ecologists. In this paper, we provide an exhaustive review of this literature, primarily in tabular form. We highlight some of the more representative examples in the text, and discuss some ecological and evolutionary aspects of the use of chemosensory information for prey decision making. Curiously, only one example illustrates the ability of birds to detect predator odours and we have found no examples for terrestrial insects, suggesting a fruitful area for future study.Résumé : Il est bien connu qu'un animal qui doit prendre une décision d'ordre comportemental prend en considération le risque de prédation associé à cette décision. Souvent, l'animal passera outre ce risque pour se reproduire ou se nourrir. Une telle habilité implique que l'animal a une information spatio-temporelle valable sur le risque de prédation. Les indices chimiques constituent une source importante d'informations. Ils révèlent la présence de prédateurs (où leur passage récent) et donnent des renseignements sur le taux d'activité du prédateur et sur sa diète. Dans certaines circonstances (dans l'obscurité ou en présence de prédateurs chassant à l'affût), les indices chimiques peuvent être les seuls permettant aux proies de détecter leurs prédateurs. Il existe une littérature abondante sur la réponse des proies aux indices chimiques (ou odeurs) fournis par les prédateurs. Ces travaux sont néanmoins disparates (leurs sujets s'étendent de la biologie marine au contrôle biologique), peu connus et peu appréciés des écologistes spécialistes de l'étude des comportements. Dans cet article, nous faisons une revue exhaustive de cette littérature, notamment sous la forme de tableaux. Nous mettons en relief dans le texte les exemples les plus représentatifs. Nous discutons aussi des aspects écologiques et évolutifs reliés à l'utilisation des informations chimiques par les proies lors de prises de décisions. Curieusement, un seul exemple illustre l'habilité des oiseaux à la détection des odeurs des prédateurs. Nous n'avons pas trouvé d'exemple chez les insectes terrestres. Il y a donc là un terrain potentiellement fructueux pour de futurs travaux.

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Section: Reduced Activitymentioning

confidence: 92%

The scent of death: Chemosensory assessment of predation risk by prey animals

1998

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“…This stress-related odor increases anxiety levels (8,9) and induces a variety of anxiety-related responses depending on their situation with other rats (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). Rats respond to their own stressrelated odor in a similar manner to odor released from the other rats, suggesting that the odor has general effects (10,19).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of a pheromone that increases anxiety in rats

Inagaki

Kiyokawa

Tamogami³

et al. 2014

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

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Chemical communication plays an important role in the social lives of various mammalian species. Some of these chemicals are called pheromones. Rats release a specific odor into the air when stressed. This stress-related odor increases the anxiety levels of other rats; therefore, it is possible that the anxiety-causing molecules are present in the stress-related odorants. Here, we have tried to identify the responsible molecules by using the acoustic startle reflex as a bioassay system to detect anxiogenic activity. After successive fractionation of the stress-related odor, we detected 4-methylpentanal and hexanal in the final fraction that still possessed anxiogenic properties. Using synthetic molecules, we found that minute amounts of the binary mixture, but not either molecule separately, increased anxiety in rats. Furthermore, we determined that the mixture increased a specific type of anxiety and evoked anxiety-related behavioral responses in an experimental model that was different from the acoustic startle reflex. Analyses of neural mechanisms proposed that the neural circuit related to anxiety was only activated when the two molecules were simultaneously perceived by two olfactory systems. We concluded that the mixture is a pheromone that increases anxiety in rats. To our knowledge, this is the first study identifying a rat pheromone. Our results could aid further research on rat pheromones, which would enhance our understanding of chemical communication in mammals.stress-related odor | alarm pheromone | acoustic startle reflex | anxiety | rat C hemical communication plays an important role in the social lives of various mammalian species. Some of these chemicals are called "pheromones." Because the term pheromone was coined and defined based on findings in insects (1), there is still a debate as to whether the original definition can be applied to mammals (2). Researchers have proposed revised definitions by modifying the original definition and/or specifying additional requirements (3-6). On the basis of the original and revised definitions, we set a working definition of pheromone within this study as (i) substances that are secreted to the outside by an individual and received by a second individual of the same species, in which they cause a specific reaction; (ii) substances that are effective in minute amounts; (iii) substances that are released from living individuals; and (iv) substances that mediate communication for an evolutionarily adaptive function.Rats release a specific odor into the air when stressed (7). This stress-related odor increases anxiety levels (8, 9) and induces a variety of anxiety-related responses depending on their situation with other rats (9-18). Rats respond to their own stressrelated odor in a similar manner to odor released from the other rats, suggesting that the odor has general effects (10,19). In addition, the stress-related odor appears to be effective in minute amounts (20,21). Therefore, the molecules responsible for increasing anxiety levels should exist in the...

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“…This procedure of measuring an S's response to a novel stimulus has been used successfully in the past to measure discriminative ability in other sensory modalities (i.e., Berlyne, 1950;Montgomery, 1953;Berlyne & Slater, 1957;Courtney, Reid, & Wasden, 1968). SUBJECTS The Ss were 16 ovariectomized female rats of the Long-Evans strain, housed in groups of four per home cage.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of female rats to the individual body odors of male rats

Krames

1970

Psychon Sci

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Suppression of running times by olfactory stimuli

Cited by 28 publications

References 3 publications

The scent of death: Chemosensory assessment of predation risk by prey animals

The scent of death: Chemosensory assessment of predation risk by prey animals

Identification of a pheromone that increases anxiety in rats

Responses of female rats to the individual body odors of male rats

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