title: Sensory neurobiology: demystifying the sick sense.
abstract: The vomeronasal organ, a sensory structure within the olfactory system, detects chemical signals that affect social and sexual behaviors and that elicit responses to predator odors. A recent study demonstrates that innate avoidance of sick conspecifics requires an intact vomeronasal organ, expanding the repertoire of biological functions known to be mediated by this olfactory subsystem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. Electronic address: bozza@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bozza
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D055696:Olfactory Perception; D012919:Social Behavior; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000502:physiology*