title: Olfactory responsiveness to two odorous steroids in three species of nonhuman primates.
abstract: Social communication by means of odor signals is widespread among mammals. In pigs, for example, the C19-steroids 5-alpha-androst-16-en-3-one and 5-alpha-androst-16-en-3-ol are secreted by the boar and induce the mating stance in the sow. In humans, the same substances have been shown to be compounds of body odor and are presumed to affect human behavior. Using an instrumental conditioning paradigm, we here show that squirrel monkeys, spider monkeys and pigtail macaques are able to detect androstenone at concentrations in the micromolar range and thus at concentrations at least as low as those reported in pigs and humans. All three species of nonhuman primates were considerably less sensitive to androstenol, which was detected at concentrations in the millimolar range. Additional tests, using a habituation-dishabituation paradigm, showed that none of the 10 animals tested per species was anosmic to the two odorous steroids. These results suggest that androstenone and androstenol may be involved in olfactory communication in the primate species tested and that the specific anosmia to these odorants found in approximately 30% of human subjects may be due to their reduced number of functional olfactory receptor genes compared with nonhuman primates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Psychology, University of Munich, Munich, Germany. Matthias.Laska@med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laska
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wieser
authors.forename: Laura Teresa
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Hernandez Salazar
mesh_terms: D000737:Androstenols / Q000494:pharmacology; D000738:Androsterone / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D009812:Odorants; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013256:Steroids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D000737:Androstenols; D018035:Receptors, Odorant; D013256:Steroids; D000738:Androsterone