PMID- 8055257
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 19940915
LR  - 20190512
IS  - 0379-864X (Print)
IS  - 0379-864X (Linking)
VI  - 19
IP  - 1
DP  - 1994 Feb
TI  - Removal of the vomeronasal organ reduces reproductive performance and aggression 
      in male prairie voles.
PG  - 35-45
AB  - Several short-duration tests have demonstrated that the surgical removal of the 
      vomeronasal organ (VNX) from sexually-inexperienced male rodents results in a 
      reduction in copulatory behavior, compared to the effects of sham surgery (SHAM). 
      We extended these studies to adult male prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster, and 
      substantially increased the duration of the tests. During the initial 
      interactions with females, VNX males spent significantly less time with their 
      noses in close proximity to the females than did SHAM males. Moreover, only two 
      of nine VNX males sired offspring after having been paired with females for 8 
      weeks, whereas nine of 12 SHAM males sired offspring in that interval. We also 
      found that VNX and SHAM males were equivalently non-aggressive to an anesthetized 
      stimulus-male prior to being paired with females. However, after spending 2 weeks 
      paired with a female, the VNX males were significantly less aggressive than were 
      the SHAM males, possibly as a result of having copulated less often. In a later 
      test, nearly all of the VNX and SHAM males that sired offspring were vigorously 
      aggressive to a stimulus male. We conclude that the stimulation of the 
      vomeronasal system in sexually-inexperienced male prairie voles is important for 
      maximal reproductive performance and that the VNX-induced impairment in 
      reproduction is associated with a decrease in inter-male aggression. The possible 
      sensory effects of the vomeronasal system on the neural and endocrine control of 
      reproduction and behavior are discussed.
FAU - Wekesa, K S
AU  - Wekesa KS
AD  - Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro 27412.
FAU - Lepri, J J
AU  - Lepri JJ
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
PL  - England
TA  - Chem Senses
JT  - Chemical senses
JID - 8217190
SB  - IM
MH  - Aggression/*physiology
MH  - Animals
MH  - Arvicolinae/*physiology
MH  - Female
MH  - Male
MH  - Nasal Septum/anatomy & histology/*physiology
MH  - Reproduction/*physiology
MH  - Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology
MH  - Vocalization, Animal/physiology
EDAT- 1994/02/01 00:00
MHDA- 1994/02/01 00:01
CRDT- 1994/02/01 00:00
PHST- 1994/02/01 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 1994/02/01 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 1994/02/01 00:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1093/chemse/19.1.35 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Chem Senses. 1994 Feb;19(1):35-45. doi: 10.1093/chemse/19.1.35.