Nature Communications (Oct 2018)

Sexual rejection via a vomeronasal receptor-triggered limbic circuit

  • Takuya Osakada,
  • Kentaro K. Ishii,
  • Hiromi Mori,
  • Ryo Eguchi,
  • David M. Ferrero,
  • Yoshihiro Yoshihara,
  • Stephen D. Liberles,
  • Kazunari Miyamichi,
  • Kazushige Touhara

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07003-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

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Sex pheromones that increase mating have been reported across a number of different species, yet there is little known about pheromones that suppress female mating drive. This study reports that juvenile female mice release a pheromone, ESP22, which suppresses sexual receptivity of adult female mice by evoking a robust rejection behavior upon male mounting.