title: Mammalian pheromones.
abstract: Mammalian pheromones control a myriad of innate social behaviors and acutely regulate hormone levels. Responses to pheromones are highly robust, reproducible, and stereotyped and likely involve developmentally predetermined neural circuits. Here, I review several facets of pheromone transduction in mammals, including (a) chemosensory receptors and signaling components of the main olfactory epithelium and vomeronasal organ involved in pheromone detection; (b) pheromone-activated neural circuits subject to sex-specific and state-dependent modulation; and (c) the striking chemical diversity of mammalian pheromones, which range from small, volatile molecules and sulfated steroids to large families of proteins. Finally, I review (d) molecular mechanisms underlying various behavioral and endocrine responses, including modulation of puberty and estrous; control of reproduction, aggression, suckling, and parental behaviors; individual recognition; and distinguishing of own species from predators, competitors, and prey. Deconstruction of pheromone transduction mechanisms provides a critical foundation for understanding how odor response pathways generate instinctive behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115; email: Stephen_Liberles@hms.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Liberles
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000502:physiology; D009831:Olfactory Mucosa / Q000502:physiology; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D010675:Pheromones / Q000502:physiology*; D049049:Pheromones, Human / Q000502:physiology; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D010675:Pheromones; D049049:Pheromones, Human