PMID- 15488538
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20050317
LR  - 20081121
IS  - 0031-9384 (Print)
IS  - 0031-9384 (Linking)
VI  - 83
IP  - 2
DP  - 2004 Nov 15
TI  - Importance of olfactory and vomeronasal systems for male sexual function.
PG  - 177-87
AB  - Chemosensory cues stimulate male sexual arousal and behavior. The main olfactory 
      system has an important role in attracting males to estrous females, and the 
      vomeronasal receptors are important for activating accessory olfactory pathways 
      that engage mating behavior in a sexually dimorphic manner. The gonadotropin 
      releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons like the vomeronasal organ (VNO) neurons take 
      their origin in the olfactory placode and migrate to the basal forebrain along 
      pathfinder axons that take their origin in the developing VNO. The maturation of 
      both systems is synchronized in time such that the early postnatal testosterone 
      surge masculinizes the VNO neural relay en route to the medio preoptic area 
      (MPOA). Although VNO slices and VNO receptor neurons in culture respond to 
      volatile odors, in vivo electrophysiological recordings at the first relay in the 
      accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) are silent until the male makes active nuzzling 
      investigations of the female. The VNO neurons may therefore respond to volatiles 
      that are transported into the organ on carrier peptides that themselves may play 
      a part in receptor activation. In the context of modern molecular phylogenetic 
      studies, it is becoming less likely that pheromones acting via the VNO have any 
      part to play in human sexual behavior, but the possibility exists for conserved 
      VNO genes influencing human reproduction via fertilization.
FAU - Keverne, E B
AU  - Keverne EB
AD  - Sub-Department of Animal Behaviour, University of Cambridge, Madingley, 
      Cambridge, CB3 8AA, UK. ebk10@cus.cam.ac.uk
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Review
PL  - United States
TA  - Physiol Behav
JT  - Physiology & behavior
JID - 0151504
RN  - 0 (Pheromones)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Chemoreceptor Cells/physiology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Major Histocompatibility Complex/physiology
MH  - Male
MH  - Olfactory Pathways/*physiology
MH  - Pheromones/physiology
MH  - Sex Characteristics
MH  - Sexual Behavior/*physiology
MH  - Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology
MH  - Smell/*physiology
MH  - Vomeronasal Organ/*physiology
RF  - 85
EDAT- 2004/10/19 09:00
MHDA- 2005/03/18 09:00
CRDT- 2004/10/19 09:00
PHST- 2004/10/19 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2005/03/18 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2004/10/19 09:00 [entrez]
AID - S0031-9384(04)00351-8 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.physbeh.2004.08.013 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Physiol Behav. 2004 Nov 15;83(2):177-87. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2004.08.013.