Brouette-Lahlou I, Godinot F, Vernet-Maury E
Emotion et vigilance, Université Claude Bernard, CNRS, G.I.S. Sciences de la cognition, INSA Lyon, Villeurbanne, France.
Physiol Behav. 1999 May;66(3):427-36. doi: 10.1016/s0031-9384(98)00334-5.
The aim of the present study was to analyze the respective roles of main and accessory olfactory systems in a particular pattern of Wistar rat maternal behavior: specific licking of pup's anogenital areas, a behavioral pattern crucial to pup survival--nonlicked pups cannot defecate, and die. Dodecyl propionate (DP), a chemical agent from rat pup's preputial glands was found to direct and regulate pup's anogenital licking. Primiparous dams underwent one of the following treatments: surgical removal of the vomeronasal organ (hereafter VNX), irrigation of nasal cavities with 5% ZnSO4 solution (ZN), both these treatments (VNX + ZN), surgical control (SC), saline irrigation control (SA), both these treatments (SC + SA), and normal control (N). Fewer pups (only 75%) of VNX dams survived to 15 days of age compared to controls or to females rendered anosmic by zinc-sulfate irrigation of the nasal cavity (>95% survival). Furthermore, pup growth (mass increase over time) was impaired by VNX and/or ZN treatment. Greater than normal amounts of time were spent licking pups' anogenital area by VNX females, although these dams did not spend as much time as normal females in close contact with either pups heads or filter papers anointed with dodecyl propionate. The experiments reported herein suggest that the chemosensory receptors in the vomeronasal organ of dams mediate MAGL responses to pup pheromone, dodecyl propionate, a pheromone from pups' preputial glands secretion, sustaining pups' anogenital licking by dams.
本研究的目的是分析主嗅觉系统和副嗅觉系统在Wistar大鼠母性行为的一种特定模式中的各自作用：对幼崽肛门生殖器区域进行特定舔舐，这是一种对幼崽生存至关重要的行为模式——未被舔舐的幼崽无法排便并死亡。发现丙酸十二酯（DP），一种来自幼鼠包皮腺的化学物质，可指导和调节对幼崽肛门生殖器的舔舐。初产母鼠接受以下处理之一：犁鼻器手术切除（以下简称VNX）、用5%硫酸锌溶液冲洗鼻腔（ZN）、这两种处理（VNX + ZN）、手术对照（SC）、生理盐水冲洗对照（SA）、这两种处理（SC + SA）以及正常对照（N）。与对照组或通过鼻腔硫酸锌冲洗致嗅觉丧失的雌性相比（存活率>95%），VNX母鼠的幼崽存活至15日龄的较少（仅75%）。此外，VNX和/或ZN处理会损害幼崽的生长（随时间的体重增加）。VNX雌性花费在舔舐幼崽肛门生殖器区域的时间比正常情况多，尽管这些母鼠与幼崽头部或涂抹了丙酸十二酯的滤纸密切接触的时间不如正常雌性长。本文报道的实验表明，母鼠犁鼻器中的化学感受器介导了母鼠对幼崽信息素丙酸十二酯（一种来自幼鼠包皮腺分泌物的信息素）的MAGL反应，维持母鼠对幼崽肛门生殖器的舔舐。
