Modification of odor investigation and discrimination in female opossums (Monodelphis domestica) following the ablation of the accessory olfactory bulbs.
To determine whether the vomeronasal system of the Brazilian short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) is important to the response to conspecific chemical signals, the authors tested female opossums with conspecific odors, before and after ablation of their accessory olfactory bulbs (AOBs). Anesthesia and sham treatments did not modify females' discrimination of conspecific odors when tested against water, between male and female odors, or between different odors from the same male donors. Odor investigation was partially diminished following partial ablation of the AOB, and complete ablation of the AOBs further impaired the ability of females to discriminate between certain odors. These findings provide the first evidence for the importance of the vomeronasal system in the detection of chemosignals of known origin in opossums.
Zuri
Ido
I
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203-2098, USA.
Halpern
Mimi
M
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D009893:Opossums / Q000502:physiology*; D010675:Pheromones; D012903:Smell
D010675:Pheromones